Kory's Spring Training
by ComixFan1224
Summary: Kory Anders is about to have the best spring break of her life and even she doesn't know it. A new rival, a new home, and maybe even a new friendship will just be a few of the highlights of her Spring vacation. Repost.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Don't own characters. DC does. I just own the plot. Don't sue.

This story is in Kory's POV and is a tie-in to my other story 'Teen Titans: Year 1.'

**Prologue**

**It started off as a normal day. I woke up at four, trained till five thirty, had breakfast at six, and left for school at six thirty.**

**School was usual too. It was when we got home that the things started getting weird.**

**The moment we stepped through the door Bruce called us into the kitchen.**

**He was sitting at the island reading the Daily Planet. He set it down before turning his gaze to me.**

"**You've got guests," He told me casually, "They're waiting for you in your room."**

**I left the room confused. **

**I wasn't expecting any guests. **

**I walked up the stairs wondering who it was and why they were here.**

**I went over to my room at the end of the hall and opened the door. My eyes widened in surprise.**

**There, sitting on my bed, were Diana Prince and Donna Troy. They are known to most of the world as just Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl.**

"**Hey Kory," Donna greeted with her usual caring smile as I closed the door, "What's up?"**

**There was a small, mischievous glint in both her and her older sister's eyes.**

"**Nothing much," I told her confusion still written all over my face, "What are you two doing here?"**

**They both looked at each other and smiled. Diana got up from the bed and walked over to me.**

"**What are your plans for this week?" She questioned once she was standing in front of me.**

"**Well," I said still looking up at her in confusion, "It's Spring Break. I'm probably just gonna hang here and do the usual."**

"**Great," She said her smile now a full grin, "Would you mind changing your plans?"**

"**No, I don't mind." I told her. As soon as I said that I saw my gym bag being thrown at me from the corner of my eye. I caught it while still staring at Diana and waiting for her to continue.**

**She just stepped around me and to the door as Donna walked up in her place.**

"**Just pack two sets of clothes," She told me before joining Diana, "And change into your uniform. We'll meet you down in the cave."**

**With that said they walked out closing the door behind them.**

**I quickly packed so I could find out what they needed me for and walked out of my room. I locked my door and hurried down stairs. As I passed the kitchen however, I stopped and turned to the others to tell them that I was leaving.**

"**I'm gonna be away for awhile." I told them, not really sure how long I was gonna be gone or where the hell I was going.**

**Richard just took a bite of his apple and swallowed before saying, "Kay, have fun."**

**He obviously knew something I didn't. As Vic and Karen spoke up it proved they knew too.**

"**Yeah and happy birthday girl." Karen told me as a confused look reappeared on my face.**

**Vic smiled before telling me, "We'll tell the others to hold your presents till ya get back."**

**Well at least they left me a clue. Where ever I was going I would be gone for my birthday, which was next Saturday.**

**I left the doorway with a confused look on my face. I still didn't know where Diana and Donna were taking me. **

**I walked to the small library at the end of the hallway. I walked up to the piano and played the short tune to open the hidden door.**

**The bookcase moved to the side and revealed the entrance to the elevator. I walked in, pushed the elevator door open, walked into the elevator, and pushed the lever forward.**

**It traveled down to the cave slowly and as soon as it finally touched the ground, I stepped out and walked down the stone staircase.**

**As soon as I entered the cave, I went to the training room and girls' locker room to change into my uniform. When I came out I slung my gym bag over my shoulder again and reentered the cave.**

**I looked around and saw Diana and Donna already in their uniforms, waiting at the waterfall.**

**I flew over to them and, as soon as I reached them they floated a few feet above the ground.**

"**Ready to go?" Donna yelled over the roaring of the falls.**

**I nodded in response as we took off through the falls and over Gotham.**

**After a half hour of flying I looked over at Donna and asked her where we were going.**

"**New York," She told me, "We'll explain everything when we get to the Embassy."**

**I nodded and started doing the math in my head.**

**It takes a plane, going at the speed we are, about two hours to get from Gotham to Metropolis. New York is about an hour away from Metropolis, so it should only be another two and a half hours of flying before we reach New York.**

**Sure enough, two and a half hours later, we had arrived in New York.**

"**There's an empty alley over there!" Diana yelled to us while pointing to the alley.**

**Donna and I nodded and headed toward the spot.**

**I pulled a pair of jeans out of my bag and quickly put them over my uniforms pants. Then I grabbed a loose long sleeved blue shirt and put it over the top of my uniform. I pulled off my gloves and mask and put them in my gym bag, before zipping it shut. Then I ruffled my bangs until they completely covered my forehead. **

**I looked up and saw Diana and Donna start to spin around. In a matter of seconds they were in their street clothes and dusting themselves off.**

"**Ready to go?" Diana said while readjusting her glasses.**

**I nodded and we left the alley and called a taxi. It took another fifteen minutes before we reached the Embassy. When we got there I was in awe.**

**The building was about twice as big as the White House. It was a huge semicircle with the flags of most of the world's countries on it.**

**We got out of the taxi and Diana paid the driver. We walked up to the large gate and Diana pulled out her I.D. and the guard let us in. We walked up the huge staircase and entered the Embassy.**

**I followed them to the large elevators and got in. Donna pressed button for the twelfth floor and we stood there waiting until the elevator stopped.**

**We got out and walked down the long red carpet that seemed to go on for miles. Finally we got to a room that had the name DIANA PRINCE written in big gold letters. Diana pulled out her key and unlocked the door.**

**We walked in and I was stunned. The room was huge, and it was only the living room. It had a big screen TV hooked up on one wall and a light brown, leather couch just across from it, and a beautiful oak table in-between. The walls were a smooth dark brown color that looked a little darker than the couch but tied the whole room together.**

**It was simple. Just the way I like things.**

"**Wow." Was all I could say. **

**Diana and Donna just smiled.**

**I finally got out of my shock and turned to the two Amazons.**

"**So," I started off, "What are we doing this week?"**

**Donna smiled broadly.**

"**Kory," She started off, looking directly at me, "Diana and I convinced our mother to let you visit Themyscira."**

"**It's the island of the Amazons," Diana continued, "And you have not only been invited to train on the island, but also teach."**

"**Teach?" I questioned, still in shock I was going to the island of the Amazons.**

"**Yup," Donna said, her grin becoming wider, "Once mother heard you had taught us a better fighting style, she practically ordered us to invite you."**

"**Which is a good thing," Diana said, her grin just as wide as Donnas', "Mother isn't very fond of outsiders and doesn't usually liked uninvited guests over, not that she shows it in front of them, mind you. When she heard that the Amazons greatest warriors had been trained by an outsider she immediately wanted to meet you."**

**I was so happy I did the first thing that came to mind. I pulled Diana and Donna into a hug.**

A/N: For those of you who have followed this story from Teen Titans: Year 1, I hope you all enjoy this follow-up to Donna and Diana's visit from a few chapters ago. For those of you who just clicked on the story because you're Starfire fans, this is a very AU take on her, but I hope you enjoy reading it.

The chapters will be very long, (with the exception of the epilogue) and updates will be every day!

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading. Please review!


	2. Day 1

Disclaimer: Don't own characters. DC does. I just own the plot. Don't sue.

This story is in Kory's POV and is a tie-in to my other story 'Teen Titans: Year 1.'

**Day One**

**Arrival**

**We woke up bright and early the next morning. I mean really early too. Like before the sun came out.**

**Diana called on her Invisible Jet and we went directly from her balcony onto it.**

**The inside of the jet was huge. There were weapons and armor and the technology was far more advanced then even Bruce could get his hands on.**

"**Okay Kory," Donna said as we took seats behind Dianas', "When we get to the island the first thing we have to do is change our clothes. Since we're the same size I had some extra togas made in my size so you could change the moment you get there.**

"**Also, when you meet mother be careful. She thinks that outsiders, even female outsiders, have a low intelligence and physical level."**

"**Why?" I asked curiously.**

"**Well," Donna started off hesitantly, "Mother believes that, because outside women have lived in a world with men for so long, that they all would basically do anything a man says.**

"**I remember when Clark visited with us to tell her that he and Diana were engaged, he flew about a foot off the ground so he wouldn't be touch it. Anyway she didn't really like the idea."**

"**She still doesn't." Diana said from her place in front of us. **

"**Why not?" I asked thinking about everything I've heard about Clark Kent, "He believes in equal rights."**

"**Mother doesn't." Donna and Diana replied simultaneously.**

"**She believes all women are better than men," Donna continued, "And that women from the outside world have lived with men so long, they basically can't overthrow them. To her men have too much power.**

"**We think if you can prove just how good of a warrior you are though, you can teach her different. Diana and I have met a lot of great fighters Kory, but none of them are as good as you. You can beat Artemis easy."**

"**Artemis?" I questioned. I was starting to get worried but I couldn't let them know that. More importantly I couldn't let the Queen, their mother, know that.**

"**She is one of the Amazons greatest warriors but she fights even worse than we did," Donna told me giving me a reassuring smile, "You can beat her easy. Trust me."**

**If you added up all the days together I had only known Donna for a little over a week, but at that moment I felt a real bond with her. It was a bond that I could tell would be more special than even the ones I share with most of the Titans.**

**I trusted her judgment. **

**If she knew I could beat this Amazon, Artemis, then so did I. I don't know why, but her assurance gave me more confidence.**

**After four hours of flying, Diana finally told us to grab our bags and get ready to land. We had only brought our gym bags with a pair of extra clothes in it.**

**I looked out of the jet in awe. **

**The island was humungous. The outside was a nice white sand beach and grass started moving in about twenty-five yards after it. In the center was a large white castle and around it were hundreds of women. Some of them were dressed in white togas while others were dressed in shimmering gold armor.**

**We flew around to the back of the island and finally landed at a large wooden dock.**

**Diana got up out of her seat and grabbed her bag.**

"**We still have an hour before we have to see mother," She said as Donna and I followed her out the door and onto the dock. She pulled a cord out of the jet and tied it to the dock, "I have to go see her immediately, but after you both get changed, Donna, why don't you take Kory around the island?"**

"**Sure." Donna said putting her gym bag over her shoulder. **

**We walked down the dock and onto the white sandy beach. We kept moving inland, toward the large castle, and whenever we passed an Amazon they would bow to Diana and Donna.**

**Finally, we made it to a small white building next to the castle and walked in.**

"**This is where you two will be staying for the week," Diana said while opening the door for us, "I have to go change and see mother now but I'll catch up with you later."**

**And with that Diana left, closing the door behind her.**

**Donna and I looked around our home for the week. It was a circular kind of hut, more or less. It had a bathroom and changing curtain, a wall just for weapons and armor, a closet, a few windows near the top, letting the sun in, in all directions, and a bunk bed near the closet.**

**Donna and I looked at each other before we both gained mischievous smiles and raced toward the bunk bed. Just as she was about to float up, I threw my gym bag up and called, "Dibs on the top!"**

**Donna mock glared at me before throwing her bag on the bottom bunk and walking over to the closet. She pulled out two white togas. She handed one over to me and I held it up to my body.**

**Right now it was like a dress that went down to my knee. It also had two thick straps clasped together by gold circles. I usually don't wear things like that but it looked pretty comfortable. I went into the bathroom and quickly changed out of my t-shirt and jeans and into the toga. It was actually pretty comfortable.**

**When I came out Donna handed me a thick white belt, I guess you could call it.**

"**It ties up the toga," She said as she put hers on her waist. Then she pulled out a pair of white gymnastics shorts and handed'em to me saying, "It gets rid of the breeze."**

**I put the belt on and quickly hid behind the curtain and put on the shorts. I grabbed a pair of sandals that laced half way up my calf, and went over to my gym bag and pulled out a ponytail holder and tied up my hair with it, just as Donna did the same. We both brushed our bangs out of our eyes before walking out of our hut.**

**Donna got an excited look on her face and dragged me over to a stable not too far from our hut. She pulled out two brown horses and turned to me.**

"**Y'know how to ride?" She asked me as she saddled the horses.**

"**Do motorcycles count?" I joked with a small grin.**

**Donna laughed before saying, "I don't think so."**

**She taught me how to get on and ride and in about ten minutes I was touring the island via horseback.**

"**Okay let's start here at the beach," Donna started as we rode along the beach.**

"**Over there," Donna said pointing to two Amazons fighting on a large stick with some kind of sticks and a few Amazons out watching them in canoes, "Is the Battle Staves area. You'll probably be learning that on Monday.**

"**Over there is canoe racing," she continued pointing to a small group of rapids where three small canoes, with one Amazon in each of them, racing through them, "Basically you paddle out and try your best to control the canoe through the rapids. Trust me there may not be a lot of rapids but they are really hard to get through."**

**We headed back into the grass and a little closer to the large castle.**

"**As you can see," Donna said as we kept circling and getting closer to the Queen, "We have everything from archery to sword fighting. The area we're entering now is basically where the younger Amazons train. They're here from around four to ten years old."**

"**I have a feeling I'm gonna have a lot of fun here." I said looking around.**

"**That's great," Donna said as the buildings started getting taller, "Just to let you know these are temples. We come here to pray or talk to the gods."**

**I nodded, still taken in by the beauty of the island.**

"**So when do I face Artemis?" I asked Donna, now extremely excited that I was here.**

"**After dinner," Donna said grinning at my enthusiasm, "The center of the castle is like a coliseum. It's open on top and has stands for all of the Amazons on the island. After dinner, which is going to be a huge feast in honor of your arrival, you have to face Artemis in three challenges.**

"**The first is hand-to-hand combat. It's definitely gonna be in your favor since you are into martial arts so much and since Artemis is like most of the Amazons currently are. She uses all her strength in every attack.**

"**The second competition is archery. Artemis is a dead bull's-eye so I hope you're really good at archery."**

"**It shouldn't be a problem," I said thinking back to when I first started practicing with my star bolts, "I have a pretty good shot with my star bolts and if I can get some practice in I might be able to get the hang of it."**

"**Great," Donna said, her grin widening, "You'll have more than enough time for practice after you meet mother.**

"**The last competition will be sword fighting. You have to get Artemis into a killing stroke. Your martial arts skills should help you in that to."**

**Finally we reached the entrance to the large white castle. We dismounted from our horses and tied them up at the post.**

**We walked through the entrance and down a long marble floor and, at the coliseum, took a right and went around it. Finally we got to a huge set of gold doors, where two armored Amazons guarded.**

"**We're here to see Queen Hippolyta." Donna told the guards. One of them nodded and opened the large door to let the queen know we had arrived.**

**She came back out after a minute and both guards opened the doors. We walked through and I quickly took in my surroundings. I always do that naturally because of how many times I had to watch my back in Citadel.**

**As we walked through another archway I saw her.**

**She had long blonde hair tied back and a gold crown sitting on top of it. She was wearing a long white toga that went down to her ankles and had a gold lining around it. She sat high in her throne as she looked down at me with her sapphire eyes.**

**We stopped in front of her throne and bowed down. Diana, who had been standing next to the queen, spoke up.**

"**Mother," She said as she turned to Queen Hippolyta, "This is Korina Anders. Korina, this is my mother, Queen Hippolyta."**

**I bowed again before saying, "It is an honor to meet you, your majesty."**

**She looked at me for a few more moments before a small smile graced her face.**

"**It is an honor to meet you as well Korina," She said getting up from her thrown, "My daughters have told me a lot about you."**

**She stepped down and walked over to shake my hand.**

"**Come," she commanded, walking toward the gold doors, "There is much I would like to discuss with you."**

**I followed hesitantly, looking over my shoulder at Diana and Donna and saw them give me a thumbs up. I turned back to Hippolyta and followed her out of the castle and over to the beach.**

"**Now," She started as we walked down the beach, "Diana and Donna have told me you are a fierce warrior. Tell me, where did you study?"**

**I was slightly surprised by that question but didn't show it.**

"**I learned martial arts from a great fighter in my home town," I started off coolly, "My teacher was male and taught me so well that, by the time I was seven, I could win fights against people about three times my size."**

**Queen Hippolyta seemed intrigued when I told her that my sensei was a guy.**

"**Did your teacher ever try to hold you back from fighting males?" She started to question, "Did he ever teach you that females were inferior?"**

"**Most men haven't been like that since the 1960's I think it was," I said looking up at her, "Most men believe in equal rights. We're all equal and should be treated that way.**

"**Because I'm a superhero, I work with a lot of guys. There are four on my team and I can beat three of them while the fourth I match in strength and intellect."**

"**What about Clark Kent?" She asked me, "I believe he goes by Superman in your world."**

"**Clark," I started still looking at the queen, "I've never actually met him. I have, however read his articles. The ones he writes and the ones that are about him as Superman.**

"**He seems like a very nice guy and one who wouldn't put a woman down. You know, say bad things about a female."**

**She seemed satisfied with my response. We walked in silence for a little while longer, before she stopped and turned to me.**

"**Well it was nice meeting you Korina," she sad shaking my hand once more, "I must return to the castle, but I would like it very much if you would sit with me to chat more at dinner tonight."**

"**It would be an honor your majesty." I told her honestly. She nodded in response before walking away.**

**I looked up in the sky after she left and saw that the sun was closer to the west. It was about one o'clock in the afternoon.**

"**Kory!" I heard someone yell. I turned and saw Donna and Diana running toward me.**

"**How'd it go?" Diana asked as she and Donna stopped in front of me.**

"**Well," I said looking at them both, "She wants me to sit next to her at dinner."**

"**That's great!" Donna said happily, "It means she likes you. You're not in yet though."**

"**To stay on her good side," Diana said as we started to walk back inland, "You have to beat Artemis in all three challenges. When you do it means that you are worthy to train the Amazons."**

"**I'm not sure if I'm meant to train anyone." I said honestly. Training Diana and Donna had been fun and let me get to know them better. Training an entire island was a whole other story.**

"**Trust us," Diana said putting an arm around my shoulder, "Once you get into it you'll love it."**

**We decided to practice for the rest of the afternoon. I practiced my archery and after the first couple of tries I started getting bull's-eyes. After three hours of archery, I practiced my sword fighting with Diana while Donna called the matches.**

**I had practiced sword fighting with Bruce while he was also teaching me forensics. After a couple of days it was easy for me to beat him. Too bad I couldn't say the same with Diana.**

**As good as Bruce was with a sword Diana was ten times better. Finally after about fifteen matches, all fifteen I lost, I won. I gotta say one out of sixteen isn't so bad. After that we went and got changed for dinner.**

**We walked back up to the castle and took a left right after we walked in. We went down another long hallway until we entered the dining room. There were three long tables filled with Amazons of all ages. Up at the end of the room were Queen Hippolyta and the chosen few that sat with her.**

**We walked up to the final table that faced the others. While Diana went and took a seat at her right side, Donna and I took a seat at her left.**

**When we arrived, Queen Hippolyta held up a hand for us to stop and turned to the redhead next to her. She whispered something in her ear and the redhead got up from her seat. She was about a head taller than me and had brighter hair than me as well. Her brown eyes looked at me as if I was the lowest scum on Earth.**

**She went and sat at the end of the table, while Hippolyta motioned for us to sit in the two empty seats to her left.**

"**That was Artemis." Donna whispered to me as I sat down, "She hates outsiders more than Mother."**

**No wonder she looked at me like that. I moved my head a little to see Artemis glaring daggers at me. If looks could kill I would've been six feet under the moment I walked through the door.**

**Soon dinner arrived. We had chicken and pork with carrots and lettuce. During the whole dinner Queen Hippolyta asked me a lot of questions about the outside world. Finally dinner was over and everyone walked to the coliseum.**

**Diana walked me out to the middle of the coliseum.**

"**Don't worry," She told me as the stadium started to fill, "Just think of it like its training. You know practice."**

**She smiled at me before flying to her seat.**

**I took a deep calming breath and went over to stand near my marble bench. I started stretching as I waited for Artemis. Just when I finished she stepped through the floor entrance.**

**She went directly to the center of the floor and I followed shortly. When I extended my hand to shake hers she just glared at me. I sighed and lowered my hand.**

"**First challenge," Queen Hippolyta said gaining everyone's attention, "Hand-to-hand combat. First one to hit the floor loses. Begin."**

**As soon as she said that Artemis threw a punch directly at my face. I dodged it and moved to the side. I watched her bring her foot back. She was gonna try and kick me in the stomach.**

**I back flipped out of the way, and when her foot came up to where my stomach was supposed to be, I grabbed it and shifted my weight to push her to the ground. She immediately fell to the ground.**

**Almost every Amazon in the large stadium gasped and went wide-eyed.**

**I saw Diana poke Queen Hippolyta, who then cleared her throat.**

"**Korina wins challenge one," She said gaining the stadiums attention once more, "Bring in the targets for challenge two."**

**As four Amazons came in through the entrance with two targets, I offered Artemis a hand up. She just glared at me, lifted herself up, and dusted herself off.**

**Soon I felt a tap at my hip. I turned around and looked down.**

**There, holding a bow and quiver, was a small girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. I had to smile at her, she just looked so cute.**

**I bent down to look at her straight in the eyes.**

"**Hi," I said still smiling at the little girl.**

"**Hi," she said back softly.**

"**Are those for me?" I asked pointing to the bow and quiver full of arrows.**

**She nodded and handed them to me before walking out of the coliseum. I smiled and shook my head a bit before grabbing the quiver and bow.**

**I slipped the quiver over my shoulders and removed an arrow from it. I turned and saw that Artemis was taking a few practice shots.**

"**The second challenge," Queen Hippolyta said once she saw I was ready, "Is archery. You have three tries to get a bull's-eye. The one with the most bull's-eyes at the end is the winner. You may begin."**

**As soon as she said that Artemis shot out an arrow and it hit the second ring away from the center. As she shot off her second I shot off my first. It hit dead center. I was about to shoot off my second when I felt a bit of wind. I changed my strategy a bit and shot against it so the wind could move it and hit the bull's-eye again. I felt the wind pick up again and repeated what I had done with the second arrow. It had the same results.**

**I looked over at Artemis who was glaring at me. She had two bull's-eyes.**

"**Korina wins the second competition," Queen Hippolyta said staring down at us with a slightly shocked expression, "Clear the field and fetch their swords."**

**As I took off my quiver, the little blonde girl from before came and picked up my bow. She waited for me to give her the quiver before setting it on her back and walking off. She came back a few minutes later with a longsword in a scabbard.**

**She handed me the longsword.**

"**Thanks." I said smiling once more as I took the sword out of the scabbard.**

**She took the scabbard and took a seat at the bench I was stretching next to.**

**I turned and faced Artemis. Seeing as she was quick to move during the other challenges, I didn't want my head cut off at the beginning of this one.**

"**Challenge three," Queen Hippolyta said speaking above us, "Is the sword fight. First person to lose their sword and end up in a position where they could end up killed, loses. Begin."**

**As soon as she said begin, Artemis lunged at me. I quickly ducked and rolled to the side. I gripped the hilt of my sword tightly and when she turned to strike again, I blocked it and kicked her in the stomach. She went back a little before hitting the ground, still holding her sword.**

**When Diana and I were practicing earlier she told me that Amazons hold on to their weapons tightly. If I was going to get that sword out of Artemis' hands and win, I had to come up with a good, fast strategy.**

**She quickly got back to her feet and prepared to lunge at me again. When I saw what she was going to do I front flipped as she started to run. I made it behind her and quickly kicked her in the back, knocking her to the ground, and making her lose her sword. I kept my foot on her back and put the tip of my sword to the back of her neck.**

"**Korina wins the third competition," Queen Hippolyta said. As soon as she finished I took my foot off her back and pointed the tip of my sword to the ground. Queen Hippolyta continued, "She has beaten one of our best warriors, in her own way, proving that we must improve our type of training.**

"**Korina," She turned her sapphire eyes to me, "It would be an honor if you could train us in your fighting style."**

**I looked around to all the hopeful faces of the Amazons.**

"**It would be my pleasure Queen Hippolyta." I said bowing to her. She smiled in return before turning her gaze to her kingdom.**

"**From now on," She said looking out to the Amazons, "We will follow the way Korina trains."**

**The whole coliseum applauded as the little girl came up to get my sword. I took the scabbard from her and placed the longsword back in.**

**She smiled a little before taking the sword from me and walking away.**

**I turned to Artemis and extended my hand, trying one more time to shake her hand. She just glared at me coldly before stomping out of the coliseum.**

**As she stomped away Diana and Donna flew down beside me and each of them gave me a hug.**

"**You did great!" Diana said as she let me go.**

"**Yeah you rock!" Donna said slinging her arm around my shoulder as we walked out of the castle and into the warm spring night.**

"**You two better head to bed," Diana said as we split ways, "We have an early start tomorrow morning."**

**We nodded and said goodnight before heading back to our hut.**

**Donna unlocked the door and we went inside.**

"**We better keep the door locked," She said as she locked the door, "Artemis isn't happy when she loses."**

**I nodded remembering the cold glares she kept giving me.**

"**So," I said as I climbed up to the top bunk, "What do we have planned for tomorrow?"**

"**We could take a swim in the morning," Donna said as she climbed into the bottom bunk, "Then, if you want, we could go canoe racing before you start teaching classes."**

"**Sounds like fun to me," I said before yawning, "Night Donna."**

"**Night Kory," Donna said before drifting off to sleep.**

A/N: Did I tell you the chapters would get longer or what? Also, I love writing POV stories that delve into the character's thoughts and feelings more. For those who are following my TT series, most of the tie-ins are written in character's POV. Also, that little blonde-haired girl from this chapter, she will return. Maybe in this story, maybe later on in the series. Keep an eye out.

I hope you all enjoyed Kory's first day on Themyscira as much as she did! Thanks for reading. Please review.


	3. Day 2

Disclaimer: Don't own characters. DC does. I just own the plot. Don't sue.

This story is in Kory's POV and is a tie-in to my other story 'Teen Titans: Year 1.'

**Day Two**

**Training**

**The next morning, just as the sun started to peek out, I opened my eyes. It had been one of the most peaceful sleeps I've ever had.**

**I jumped down from my bed, went over to the closet, grabbed a fresh toga and rushed into the bathroom to take a quick shower.**

**When I came out, fifteen minutes later, Donna was already up and waiting.**

"**Took you long enough," She joked before heading into the bathroom.**

**After she was done and dressed we walked out of our hut, locking the door behind us, and headed to the castle for breakfast.**

**We walked into the large dining room and took the seats we had from dinner the night before. Most of the Amazons were awake by then and eating breakfast.**

"**Good morning," Diana greeted us before she bit into her apple. She swallowed the piece before continuing, "Kory, mother asked if you could start training the warriors this afternoon."**

**I nodded before grabbing a banana from the bowl in front of me.**

"**Donna and I are gonna go swimming and canoe racing this morning," I told her as I peeled the banana, "After lunch I could start training."**

**Diana nodded happily. She finished her apple before saying, "Great, I'll let mother know and I'll see you two later."**

**Donna and I said our goodbyes to her as she left the dining hall. After Donna and I finished our breakfast, we walked back to our hut.**

"**Here," Donna said handing me a one piece bathing suit that matched my hair.**

**I went into the bathroom and put it on. We left the hut a few minutes later and walked down to the beach.**

**I did a few laps for awhile and just enjoyed the water.**

"**You act like you haven't swum for fun in years." Donna said laughing a bit.**

"**I haven't." I told her bluntly. As soon as the words left my mouth she stopped laughing and looked at me with wide-eyes.**

"**Really?" She asked looking at me confused.**

**I nodded.**

"**The last time I went swimming was…" I had to think, "I think I was four or five. I know it was around the time I lived in Gotham."**

"**Have you ever had any fun that you can remember?" Donna asked, her eyes growing wider.**

"**Whenever I went racing," I said immediately, "I love street racing. When I get on my bike and ride down those streets…To me it's just one of the best feelings I've had in the world."**

"**What are the others?" Donna said looking at me slyly.**

"**Well," I said thinking about it, "Most of them are situations where I can get hurt or die. You know fighting, the whole superhero thing, street racing. But the best feeling I ever had was when Richard and I kissed at Bruces' Christmas party."**

**Donnas' eyes turned wide again and I knew I probably had a goofy smile on my face.**

"**You've kissed Dick?" She asked looking like she was ready to laugh.**

**I nodded.**

"**I have to," She said with a smile on her face, "He's pretty good isn't he."**

"**Huh?" I said. I had stopped listening after she said she'd kissed Richard too.**

**She laughed at the look on my face for a few seconds before continuing.**

"**Don't worry Kory," She said with a warm smile, "I was under a spell that made me fall in love with the first guy I saw. Diana had brought me to the Batcave and when I opened my eyes Dick was standing over me.**

"**A few hours later I kinda jumped him," She blushed a little at that, "And kissed him. He kissed back for like a second and was starting to push back, until he heard laughing. Roy and Wally, who are Speedy and Kid Flash, had been hanging out at the cave for a few days and saw us. When Dick heard Wally laughing he shoved me away and when I went to kiss him again," She paused and her face gained a small sour look, "He punched me in the face."**

**I couldn't help it. I had burst out laughing right there. Donna waited until I calmed down before continuing.**

"**Even though I would never say it in a million years," She continued, "I've kinda liked Dick since I met him. I don't like him like you do though," I blushed at the comment, "I have a crush on him. You love him."**

"**How do you know that?" I asked trying to think if it was actually true.**

"**I see the way you look at him, and even though I can't see through his shades," We both giggled for a few seconds, "Just seeing the way he treats you, well he likes you a lot too."**

**You'd think I'd get jealous over Donna kissing Richard, or even admitting she liked him, but I wasn't. I wasn't angry either.**

**I was actually okay with it.**

**Probably cause she knows it was just a crush and nothing else and I could tell that that was all it really was for her to. A crush.**

**After another hour of swimming in silence we raced back to shore. We ended up tying so we decided to try and break it by racing back to the hut. We tied again.**

**We changed into our togas and went walking to the other side of the island. When we got to the rapids there weren't that many Amazons racing.**

"**Ready to race?" Donna asked as we grabbed separate canoes and pushed them from the sand and into the water.**

"**No," I said getting inside the canoe and grabbing the paddle, and told her teasingly, "I'm ready to win."**

**Donna smiled at me as we paddled around the rapids. We waited a few minutes as the few other Amazons went. Finally it was our turn.**

"**Ready," Called an Amazon with brown hair and holding a flag, "Go!"**

**The moment the flag went down we paddled off. I can't say it was easy; the farther along we went the harder it was to control the canoe. I saw a good fast rapid ahead and pushed my paddle to try to steer my canoe toward it. The moment I hit it, it sent me soaring down to the finish line.**

**Donna came up behind me a few seconds later.**

"**You got off lucky." She said as she turned her canoe and headed back to the starting line.**

"**I don't get lucky," I pretended to boast, "its all skill."**

**We both laughed as we waited to race again.**

**We raced a total ten times and I won seven of them. We paddled back to shore and tied up our canoes just in time for lunch.**

"**So what do you plan on teaching today?" Donna asked as we walked to the castle.**

"**I don't know," I answered truthfully, "How is this supposed to work anyway?"**

"**You're gonna be teaching the teachers," Donna said. She looked like she was getting confused by her own words, "It kinda sounds confusing but anyway you teach them your fighting style and they'll teach it to the rest of the Amazons."**

**I nodded. It was a good plan. I couldn't teach all the Amazons to learn my fighting styles in just a week, but if I taught them to the instructors, they could teach the other Amazons and I'd still have time to learn some of their training exercises. It was defiantly a win-win situation.**

**We went to sit down at the head table when Artemis came in. She was looking around the hall for someone. Her eyes landed on me.**

**She walked straight up to the table and took her seat but I could feel her glare.**

**Donna and I ate in relative silence and then a small Amazon, about eight years old, came running up to the table.**

"**The Queen wants to see you Donna," She informed Donna.**

**Donna nodded and turned to me.**

"**Mother will probably have someone show you where you'll train the instructors," She said as she got up from her seat, "I'll see ya later."**

"**Kay," I said as she went around the table, "See ya."**

**The moment Donna left the room, I saw a movement to my left out of the corner of my eye. I stood up just as Artemis was half way toward me.**

**She stopped and looked shocked. She was probably thinking how I knew she was coming toward me. I walked the rest of the way to her.**

"**I have quick eyes," I told her as I walked past her and out of the dining hall. I waited outside the dining hall for whoever was supposed to take me to my lesson.**

**It was a few minutes later I heard footsteps coming my way. They were close but faint. The person was trained to move quickly and silently across the ground. **

**Artemis.**

"**Yes Artemis?" I questioned trying my best to remain polite. The footsteps stopped. She was shocked again.**

**I hadn't even looked at her and I still knew it was her.**

**Finally she cleared her throat and spoke.**

"**Follow me." She said shortly through clenched teeth.**

**I know that wherever I go, not everyone is gonna like me. I mean half of Gotham City hates Starfire, and I'm not just talking about the villains. Most people, however, love my mask, Kory Anders. **

**Just walking out into the sunshine and seeing the Amazons waving, not just at Diana, Donna, or even Artemis, but at Kory Anders too, I know that the Amazons love Kory too. **

**All of them, except Artemis of course but there are probably a few others as well.**

**She took me down to the beach and I saw about ten Amazons there. They all looked like they were in their late thirties.**

**Artemis stopped before they could see us.**

"**Have you ever played battle staves before?" She asked me her voice still as cold as ice.**

"**No." I answered looking her in the eye.**

**She smiled slyly. She knows she has the upper hand. She's gonna challenge me to a game.**

"**Tomorrow night," She said, "Eleven o'clock meet me at the long stick out there in the ocean. You know where the Amazons fight on the horizontal pole. You win, I leave you alone and accept you are the better fighter. You lose, and I will let the Queen know just how weak a fighter you really are."**

**Jus when she was about to walk away I spoke up.**

"**I win you really have to stop giving me a hard time." I told her. I had to make sure she would honor the agreement before I accepted.**

"**I give you my word as an Amazon warrior," She said looking me straight in the eye.**

"**Then I accept." I told her before walking to the older Amazons.**

**When they saw me there faces broke out into huge grins and they bowed. The smiling I could handle, but I don't think I can handle the bowing.**

"**Okay," I said getting their attention, "Let's start off with the basics. When you fight you have to have a quick mind. Think about the way your opponent fights. Keep your eyes on their arms and legs. Okay pair up and try what I suggested."**

**They got together in groups of two and started sparring. They used all their strength whenever they went to make a hit. **

**I had to stop it.**

"**Hold it," I said, holding up my hands to signal them to stop, "When you fight, don't use up all your strength on each hit. If you do then sooner or later your opponent will use your strength against you ot you'll start to lose more energy and your opponent will be able to gain the upper hand."**

**They stared at me as if I was crazy. I sighed, this was gonna be hard.**

"**Ok let me show you," I looked around the group and pointed to an Amazon that had brown hair, "Can you come over here and help me demonstrate?"**

**She nodded and walked up to me.**

"**Kay just think of this as a sparring match," She nodded and got into her fighting position, "Whenever you're ready, attack me."**

**As soon as I said that she sent her fist down to my stomach. I blocked it at the last second, twisted it around, turning her around too, pushed it against her back, and pushed her down, into the sand. After she did I let her go.**

**She shook her head and sat up. I offered her a hand up and she happily accepted before she went back in line with the others.**

"**She sent that punch with her full strength," I said looking at each of them, "That time I waited till the last second and used her strength and weight against her. That wasn't the only thing I could've done though. I could've taken a step to the side and knocked her off balance. I could've grabbed her fist and flipped her over my shoulder.**

"**If she had relaxed at the beginning and waited for the attack to come to her, or found out a way to attack that wouldn't have made her lose her balance or have her opponent use her weight against her, she would've lasted longer and maybe even won.**

"**When you fight you can't just think about the first punch. You can't use all your strength in every attack. You have to think about the fight. Analyze it at every possible angle. When you can do that, while you fight, then you've mastered martial arts."**

**Each of them were hanging onto my every word. I could tell they were trying to remember it all for their classes tomorrow.**

"**Let's focus on controlling your strength used in attacks," I said. They needed to take a step back, "Pair up again. I want you to take turns sending an attack to your partner. Control your strength; keep your attacks at a low level."**

**For the next two hours that's what they practiced. I could tell they wouldn't quit. They wanted to be better fighters. They wanted their students to be better fighters. It was after the third hour that they started improving.**

"**Awesome," I said after I had told them to stop, "Practice up and tomorrow we'll start on reading your opponents."**

**They smiled before walking off. At least most of them did.**

"**Excuse me," Said the woman I had sparred with before, "My name is Natalie. I was wondering if you could come by the South training temple sometime while you're here. My students would love to meet you."**

**I smiled at her.**

"**Sure Natalie," I said thinking about when I could come by, "How about tomorrow? I have to talk to Diana after breakfast but after that I'll probably be free."**

**She smiled at me warmly.**

"**That would be great," she said happily, "After the girls saw you fight Artemis yesterday, they could only talk about you this morning. They will be extremely happy to hear your coming."**

**She said thank you one more time before walking back inland.**

**I headed toward the hut when I saw an apple about to fall from the tree a little further ahead. I ran over and caught it just as it fell.**

"**How'd the training go?" Asked a voice from above.**

**I looked up and saw Diana sitting on a branch in the tree.**

"**I think it went really well," I said polishing the apple on my toga before taking a bite, "They really want to learn."**

"**That's why it's easy," Diana said jumping down from her place in the tree and onto the ground below, "When you train someone who wants to learn then they work hard and you really don't have many problems. When you train someone that is just training because they have to, you end up having a few…difficulties."**

**She took a bite out of her apple as well. After a few moments of silence I decided to speak up.**

"**What's Battle Staves?" I asked curiously, thinking back to my talk with Artemis.**

"**It's an Amazonian training game," Diana said looking at me curiously, "It helps with your sword fighting abilities as well as your balance and strength."**

"**How?" I asked her still trying to find a way to ask her to teach me how to play battle staves.**

"**Well," Diana said as we started to walk toward the beach and in the direction of the battle staves…arena, I guess you could call it. When we got there she started to explain the game to me, "You have two fighters, each with a wooden stick that is exactly five feet in length and an inch in diameter. They stand on a square pole that is five feet above the water and is an inch and a half wide, two inches thick.**

"**Basically you have to try to knock your opponent into the water while keeping your balance. It's easier said than done, trust me. When your up their you have to block attacks only using your stick and, when your up there, you have to attack or block with most of your strength or you'll be knocked off balance."**

**She turned her gaze from the sparring Amazons toward me.**

"**Why the interest?" She asked looking me in the eye.**

"**Just wondering what I should try tomorrow." I said before walking toward the castle.**

**I've told a lot of lies, especially over the last few years, and I know that I'm probably gonna tell millions more, but lying to Diana didn't seem right. Telling her the truth didn't seem right either. At least telling her the whole truth didn't. So I decided to tell part of it.**

**If I was gonna fight Artemis then I would need to train at Battle Staves. She'd been playing it since she was a little girl, she had the most experience with the game.**

**Tomorrow I would try playing Battle Staves. **

**That wasn't a lie.**

**It was a half truth.**

**When I got to the dining hall I took my usual seat and ate quietly. Donna walked in a few minutes later and walked straight over and took her seat.**

"**What's up?" she asked as she started piling food on her plate.**

"**Nothing much," I told her after I swallowed a piece of my chicken, "What about you?"**

"**I trained some of the afternoon classes." She stated simply.**

**We finished off dinner early and headed toward our hut after we finished.**

"**So who took you to meet the instructors?" Donna asked as we made our way to the hut.**

"**Artemis." I said trying not to sound bitter but failing miserably. When we got into the hut I decided to tell Donna about Artemis' challenge.**

**I don't know why I decided to tell her though.**

**Maybe it was the fact that we're both teenagers that can't back down from a challenge.**

**Diana was an adult and, as judgmental as it sounds, whenever I had ever told an adult about my feelings or why I did something, they just couldn't understand what I was going through.**

**My uncle and old sensei were like that a lot.**

**I once told my sensei about why I kept getting into fights on the street. He thought I was crazy. He didn't understand.**

**He and my uncle thought I was getting into fights just to get rid of excess anger.**

**All the fights I got into, I was trying to protect people.**

"**Do you think you could help me? Could you teach me how to play battle staves?" I asked after I finished telling her about the challenge.**

**Donna looked a little uncomfortable.**

"**I wish I could Kory but I can't." She said finally while heading into her bed.**

"**Why not?" I asked her, still sitting on my knees on the floor.**

"**I'm not really that good at battle staves," She said softly, "I usually go down in about a minute."**

"**I understand," I said while getting up off the floor, "Thanks anyway."**

**After I climbed into bed I looked up to the ceiling. I only had one other option to teach me how to play battle staves.**

"**You could ask Diana to help." Donna said as if reading my thoughts, "I'm sure she'll be happy to help you out."**

**I wasn't so sure. I had lied to Diana and, I don't know how but I could tell she knew it.**

**Yes, I've stopped trying to fool myself, so I admit it any half truth is still a lie.**

**I lied to Diana.**

**I lied to Diana and I know she knows I lied.**

"**Yeah," I told Donna while turning to my side, "I'll ask her tomorrow morning."**

**What other choice did I have?**

"**Good night Kory." Donna said blowing out the small lamp next to her bed.**

"**Night Donna," I said before drifting off to sleep.**

A/N: Will Diana help Kory now, knowing she lied to her? Guess you'll have to wait until the next chapter to see!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review.


	4. Day 3

Disclaimer: Don't own characters. DC does. I just own the plot. Don't sue.

This story is in Kory's POV and is a tie-in to my other story 'Teen Titans: Year 1.'

**Day Three**

**Meeting the Challenge**

**I woke up a little before the sun came up and took a quick shower. After I got changed I left the bathroom and saw Donna still fast asleep. I decided to go for a walk to clear my head a bit. I took a piece of paper and pen out of my gym bag and wrote a quick note to Donna.**

**I left the hut and went over to the beach and walked over to where I had trained the instructors the afternoon before. I took a seat in the cool sand and looked out over the ocean and watched the sunrise.**

**I don't know how long I had been out there, but when I finally decided to move I saw that I wasn't the only one awake. I saw a few Amazons heading in for breakfast.**

**I got up and dusted myself off before heading back to the hut to wait for Donna. Just as I got there Donna stepped out of the hut and locked the door.**

"**Hey," she said as she saw me walk up, "How was your walk?"**

"**It was good," I said with a smile, "Ready for breakfast?"**

"**You bet." She replied as we headed toward the castle entrance.**

**We made it to breakfast and started eating. I grabbed a carrot and started munching on it just as Natalie walked in.**

**I immediately remembered I had agreed to meet her class this morning.**

"**Do you think you can take me to the South training temple after I talk to Diana?" I asked Donna as she bit into her banana.**

"**Sure," she said turning to look at me, "Why?"**

"**I promised Natalie, the instructor, that I'd come in to see her students after I talked to Diana after breakfast." I answered as I grabbed few white grapes.**

**She nodded as the Queen walked in and took her seat.**

"**Good morning Korina," Queen Hippolyta greeted me, "I trust training went well yesterday."**

"**Yes your highness," I told her with a smile as I thought back to yesterdays training session, "Your instructors are very dedicated to their teachings."**

**She smiled in approval before digging into her breakfast. I looked over to the seat next to her and saw Diana picking up a few grapes.**

**A few minutes later Donna and I had finished breakfast. We said our goodbyes to Queen Hippolyta before walking out the door and waiting in the entrance hall for Diana. **

**Just as we went to lean against the wall, Artemis came up.**

"**Eleven o'clock." Was all she said as she walked past us.**

**Donna and I looked at each other before giggling.**

"**Eleven o'clock." I mimicked and Donna only laughed harder. I soon joined her.**

"**She's always serious," Donna said after we calmed down, "Bruce smiles more than she does."**

"**Wow." Was all I could say.**

**I've seen Bruce smile at least three times in my time at Wayne Manor and I mean a genuine smile. All of them were around Selina.**

**Maybe she was right a few months ago.**

**Maybe she is starting to wear him down.**

**A few minutes later Diana walked out of the dining hall and headed toward us.**

"**Hey Diana," I said as she approached, "I was wondering if later you could teach me how to play battle staves?"**

**She looked at me for a second before nodding yes.**

"**When do you want to learn?" She asked as we all walked out of the castle.**

"**How about a few hours before lunch?" I said looking in the direction of the arena, "We could meet at the docks for the arena and take a canoe out."**

"**Works for me." She said as she started to walk in the opposite direction, "I'll meet you there in about three hours."**

**As she walked away I sighed in relief. That was easier than I thought it'd be.**

"**C'mon," Donna said walking around the castle, "I'll show you where the South Training Temple is."**

**We walked around to the other side of the island and to a tall white building. We walked in and saw about twenty little girls talking, playing, and running around.**

"**I gotta go help out with some students in the East temple," Donna said turning to look at me, "But I should be done in about two hours."**

"**Kay I'll see you over at the battle staves arena," I told her. She nodded and walked out.**

**Just as I was about to walk in a little further, a little girl, about four or five years old ran into me.**

**I looked down and saw the little blonde girl from the competition against Artemis.**

**I bent down and helped her up to her feet.**

"**Are you okay?" I asked a little worried. She was running pretty fast and had fallen pretty hard.**

**She looked up at me with wide eyes before nodding shyly.**

"**Are you sure?" I asked again making sure she wasn't hurt.**

**She nodded again.**

"**Okay girls gather round," Natalie said as she walked over to the center of the temple.**

**The little blonde girl quickly got up and went running to her seat around Natalie.**

"**Today," Natalie continued, smiling to the little girls, "We have a very special guest. Korina has agreed to come and see you all."**

**All the girls looked toward me. I smiled warmly and walked over and sat Indian style with the little girls.**

"**Hi," I greeted looking at each of them, "Um…I'm here to answer any questions you have about the outside world or even the new fighting style you're going to learn. If you have any questions you can ask."**

**Suddenly a little girl, with black hair and brown eyes, hand shot up. **

"**Um," I said shocked that someone could raise their hand so fast, "Yes?"**

"**What do you do for fun?" she asked her eyes holding a lot of curiosity.**

"**Well there's a lot of things I do for fun," I started off, "My friends and I play basketball. It's a game where you have an orange ball about this big," I said trying to show them the size of the ball, "And you shoot it through a hoop that is a little bigger than the ball.**

"**We also play catch, where we can just throw a ball, of any size or shape, to someone and they throw it to someone else. It's not to hit anyone just to catch it.**

"**Um…I just joined the softball team. Softball is a pretty complicated game to talk about unless you actually see it. Um, I was captain of my volleyball team.**

"**Volleyball is a good sport to play for teamwork and to get rid of extra energy. You play it with a ball about the size of a basketball and basically you just hit the ball over a net, that's about seven to eight feet in the air. If the ball hits the ground and your team had hit it last, you win. If a person from the other team hits it back then you and your teammates have to try and get it back over the net. If they hit it and it hits the ground they get a point.**

"**Um…We also do some things that you do here, like running, sparring, and swimming."**

**They all seemed captivated by the things the other Titans and I had done for fun.**

**Another hand went up. When I nodded to the little girl with dirty blonde hair and olive green eyes, she smiled.**

"**What do you mean by captain?" She asked innocently.**

"**It means I was in charge of my team." I said smiling at her.**

"**Were you captain of any other teams?" The first girl asked.**

"**Yeah," I said turning to look at her, "I was captain of my basketball team and last week my softball team named me captain too."**

"**Do you fight evil like Princess Diana and Princess Donna?" Another little girl with short blonde hair asked.**

"**Yeah," I said looking at the girl, "I do."**

"**How did you learn to fight like that?" Another girl with dark blonde hair asked.**

"**I trained hard," I started off, "And learned to hone my instincts. I also had a good instructor that I trusted. He taught me six different fighting styles."**

**They all nodded and took in what I had said. They asked me a few more questions and when I looked over to the sundial in the corner I saw it was ten thirty.**

"**Sorry kids," I said getting up, "I have to go but if you have anymore questions you can always come up to me and ask."**

**I smiled at them before turning to Natalie.**

"**Thanks for inviting me." I told her as she walked me out of the temple.**

"**No, thank you for coming," she said shaking my hand, "They really enjoyed it."**

"**Your welcome." I told her before walking out of the temple and into the sun.**

**I walked around the large castle and down to the beach. I headed for the Battle Staves arena.**

**When I got to the canoes they take out to the arena, I saw Diana already waiting for me with a canoe already set to go.**

"**Ready to go?" she asked as I approached the canoe.**

"**Yup." I said grabbing one of the sides. We pushed the canoe into the water and jumped in after we were about knee deep in the water.**

**We paddled out to the Battle Staves arena and anchored the canoe.**

"**Let's watch a few matches first," Diana said as she placed her paddle in the canoe, "After you watch how it's played for a bit you can understand how to play it."**

**We sat in the canoe and watched two Amazons fighting on the long wooden stick. I watched their footwork and hand eye coordination. As I watched I also saw the water rise a little.**

**At night the waves probably got so high they washed over the pole, making it slippery.**

**No wonder Diana said it would help with balance. Because it gets wet and the pole is only two inches wide it is hard to balance on the pole.**

**After watching Amazon after Amazon play battle staves for two hours, Diana and I were finally the last ones in the arena.**

"**Ready?" Diana asked as she carefully sat up in the canoe.**

**I nodded before jumping in the cool water. I swam over to the wooden steps at one side of the long wooden pole. I grabbed one of the poles out of the basket on one of the steps. Just as I was about to step onto the pole I saw a canoe coming over. Only one person was inside it.**

**It was Donna. She rowed up to the arena and anchored her boat a little further from ours.**

"**Hope I'm not too late." She said with a smile as she placed the paddle inside the canoe.**

"**You're just in time." Diana told her as she stepped onto the pole. I smiled and nodded before walking onto the pole to.**

**It took me a second to gain my balance before I walked toward the center. Diana and I stopped three feet away from each other before bowing respectively.**

**I carefully moved my right foot back and got ready for whatever move Diana was gonna make.**

**Diana spun her stick around for a moment before sweeping it down. I barely blocked it, almost losing my balance.**

**She switched to use the other side of the stick and tried to flip me off of the pole. I back flipped and almost slipped off the pole after I landed.**

**She swung the stick toward my head and, just as I ducked, I slipped. I grabbed onto the pole, tucked in my legs and kept my stick held above the water.**

"**Nice move," I heard Donna mutter from her place in her canoe.**

**I swung back up onto the pole and, just as I touched down, swung my stick at Dianas' legs. She performed a quick back flip and swung her stick so it would hit my shoulder.**

**I blocked the hit with my stick, but the force behind the hit was so strong, I lost my balance and hit the water.**

**I quickly swam back up and shook my head. I moved my wet bangs to the side before grabbing my stick and swimming back over to the steps.**

"**Ready to try again?" Diana asked as I stepped back on the pole. It was a lot more slippery than before.**

"**Yeah." I told her with a smile. Learning how to play Battle Staves was my new challenge and it was a hard one to.**

**I was gonna have a lot of fun learning to win this game.**

**We played through lunch and after hitting the water about fifty more times I was finally starting to get better. After playing for another twenty straight minutes without either Diana or I hitting the water Donna whistled over to us.**

"**We gotta get to our classes." She called over to us.**

**Diana turned to look over at me.**

"**We can finish this up later," She said, heading back to the steps, "Meet me back at the beach after you finish up your lessons."**

**I nodded before putting my stick away and diving into the water. We both swam back to the canoe and paddled back to shore.**

"**I'll see you in a few hours." Diana said as she got out of the canoe and walked inland.**

"**Here," Donna said, handing me a clean white towel, "I brought it so you could at least dry up."**

"**Thanks," I said with a grateful smile. I took the towel and started drying up my face and hair, "I'll see you after class."**

"**Good luck," She said with a smile before walking inland.**

**I slung the now wet towel over my shoulders and walked back down the beach.**

**Finally I got to the area where the instructors trained yesterday and saw them waiting patiently for me.**

"**Sorry I'm late," I said as I approached them, "Diana and I were playing Battle Staves and lost track of time."**

"**It's okay." One of the blonde haired instructors said.**

"**Yeah, we understand." Natalie replied.**

"**Great," I said with a smile, "Now why don't we start off today by reviewing what we did yesterday."**

"**Yesterday," The blonde instructor said, "We worked on controlling our strength in attacks."**

"**Awesome," I said walking in front of them, "So pair up and let's practice that again for a few more minutes."**

**They practiced for twenty minutes before I finally told them to stop.**

"**Okay," I started off, looking at each of them, "Now let's work on reading your opponents. In other words, I'm gonna try to teach you how to find out what your opponents next move will be. This could take a few days and not everyone can do it. There are two levels on reading opponents. One level is average, where I have a feeling most of you and your students will be, the other is above average, where very few out of everyone on the island can probably do.**

"**Reading your opponent is something everyone can do as long as they are in tune with their senses. It takes a lot of practice to learn to use all your senses in battle. You can't always depend on sight to help you win a battle. You have to hear the way your opponent moves through the air. Feel the way their fist comes through the wind.**

"**The above average level is a level very few people in the entire world can reach. My sensei, or teacher, told me once that out of the billions of people in the world, only a few hundred can reach this level.**

"**The above average level is where you are so in tune with your senses and are extremely good at reading your opponent; you know the moves they are going to make about a minute before they make it. If you have this ability, you can change it so it's in your favor. Any questions before we begin?"**

**An instructor with dark brown, almost black hair, and almond colored eyes raised her hand.**

"**Yes?" I asked turning to her.**

"**Do you have the above average ability?" She questioned me.**

**Even though I didn't show it, I was a little shocked. She was right; I do have the above average ability.**

"**Yes," I answered while turning my gaze to the sand below my feet, "I do have the ability."**

"**Can you control it so you can lower it down a level?" she asked with curiosity in her eyes. I looked up and around the instructors; all held similar looks.**

**I took a seat in the sand and motioned for them to do the same.**

"**At first I didn't," I started my explanation, "But after I turned about eight or nine I finally learned to control it. In certain fights I take about a second to re-hone my senses and focus and then I can read my opponent no problem.**

"**I don't use it much when I fight evil but when I train with the leader of my group, who has the same ability, I use it all the time. Of course when he and I do that it just makes the fight harder to win, which makes the victory all the more sweeter."**

**They grinned at my enthusiasm about winning.**

"**Okay," I said trying to get back on track, "Let's work on the first step of reading your opponent. Just sit, close your eyes, and relax. The first sense we'll learn today is your hearing.**

"**Now focus on all the signs around you and one-by-one, going from my left-to-my right, tell me what you hear."**

**They sat in silence for a while before they started off.**

"**The waves moving softly across the sand," the one to my far left said.**

"**A few sisters walking away from us," The next one said.**

"**Horses running across the grass," Another said.**

**They continued describing all the sounds they could hear.**

"**That was really good," I told them as they opened their eyes, "Next, I'm gonna give a small sweeping attack. Judging from the wind after I make my small attack, I want you to tell me what direction it came from."**

**They nodded and closed their eyes again. I walked over to the one furthest to my right and gave them an extra few seconds of silence. Then I sent my hand, flat with my palm facing her face, in front of her face.**

"**Front," she said after about two seconds.**

**I continued down the line and when I finished I decided to make it a little harder.**

"**Now the wind is going to come in two directions." I told them. I waited a few more seconds before sending two karate chops to the side.**

**She answered correctly and I moved down the line.**

**We practiced both training methods again for another two hours.**

"**You all did great," I said with a grin, "Tomorrow we'll work on the last few senses and Wednesday we'll work on using your abilities in combat."**

**They nodded and bowed before walking away. Unless I'm actually in a match, I don't really bow, but just to make a point that I think we're all equal, I bowed to them too.**

**Before I walked back to the canoes I decided to go pick an apple off the tree from yesterday. I was kinda hungry since I had skipped lunch so I grabbed two to munch on, while I walked back down to the beach.**

**By the time I got to the canoe in front of the arena I had finished one of the apples. Diana wasn't there yet so I decided to start the second apple. When I finished I picked out a canoe and set it so when Diana came we could head out.**

**Five minutes after I got the boat ready Diana came up eating an apple too.**

"**Sorry I'm late," she said as she finished her apple, "Since we skipped lunch I thought I should grab something to eat."**

"**No prob," I told her, "I had the same idea."**

**She smiled before getting rid of the core and grabbing a side of the boat. Just as she did I heard someone running our way. I looked behind Diana and saw Donna running over.**

"**Did I miss my ride?" she joked with a grin. Diana and I looked at each other before smiling at her.**

"**You will if you don't help us bring the canoe out," I told her before grabbing onto the side of the canoe again.**

**We paddled out and watched some of the few Amazons playing Battle Staves. After an hour it was finally just the three of us at the arena again.**

**Diana and I dove into the water and swam to opposite ends of the pole. I swam to the steps and quickly climbed up and grabbed a stick. I stepped onto the pole and got ready.**

**After an hour of playing (I only fell three times, Thank You) I finally tripped up Diana.**

"**You're getting better," Diana said while swimming back to the steps, "Go again?"**

**I smiled.**

"**You better believe it." I said as she stepped back onto the pole.**

**We played for another hour before deciding to head back to land. During that hour, I knocked Diana in two more times.**

**After we set the canoe back on land and tied it up, incase of high tide, Donna and I headed toward our hut.**

"**So, are you ready for your fight with Artemis?" Donna asked me as we got closer to our hut.**

"**I sure hope so," I said trying to get the excess salt water out of my hair, "Even if I lose, I definitely want to keep playing. It's really fun."**

**I smiled over to her while she looked down at the ground.**

**It was at that moment that I saw how much she really wanted to learn to play Battle Staves and at that same moment I made a promise to myself that I was gonna teach her. Starting tomorrow.**

"**I'll come with you at eleven," Donna said a few moments later, "That way I could make sure the fight stays fair."**

"**That'd be great Donna," I said as we entered our hut, "I could so use some backup."**

**I grabbed a new set of clothes out of the closet and went into the bathroom for a quick shower.**

**About a half hour later we were back out of the hut and heading over to the castle for dinner.**

**By the time we got there the most of the Amazons, including Queen Hippolyta, had finished eating. Donna and I took our regular seats and ate about twice as much as we usually do. Just as we were halfway through our dinner Diana walked in.**

**Instead of taking her usual seat, to the right of the Queens chair, she sat next to Donna.**

"**So what do you two have planned for tonight?" Diana asked as we ate dinner.**

"**I have some homework I gotta finish," Donna said looking up from her dinner to Diana, "Kory's gonna help."**

**I just nodded.**

**We ate in silence for another fifteen minutes before we finished. I got up and pushed my chair in just in time to see Artemis mouth eleven o'clock.**

**Donna looked at me and I could tell she saw it to, Diana, however, just kept eating what was left of her dinner.**

"**We'll see you tomorrow, Diana," I said as I walked around the table.**

"**Yeah," Donna said after she pushed her chair in, "See ya tomorrow."**

**Donna and I walked casually back to our hut. We still had two and a half hours till I had to face Artemis.**

**When we got into the hut, Donna grabbed her gym bag and set it on the ground. She pulled out one of the wooden chairs and sat at the table. She pulled out a physics book and notebook.**

"**I think you brought the wrong book," I said as I took the seat opposite her.**

"**No, I didn't," she said not looking up from the book, "This is my physics book and I'm taking physics."**

"**Why?" I asked curiously but trying not to be annoying.**

**Donna laughed a little bit.**

"**Guess I never told ya, huh?" She said looking up from her homework and smiling, "I'm a junior in high school. See up until high school I was home schooled for like three years. Diana really didn't have the time to take me to school and it was easier being Wonder Girl if I got schooled at the Embassy. When I turned fourteen, Diana asked me if I wanted to go to high school and I told her yeah.**

"**The thing was, since I got home schooled, I'd already learned everything a sophomore and freshman would. So they moved me up to my junior year."**

"**So you only have another year of high school left?" I asked really impressed. She nodded, "That's so awesome!"**

**Donna laughed and went back to work.**

"**So what are you gonna do after high school?" I asked. Since she was going to graduate in a year, that means she could start working soon after.**

"**I'm thinking about taking some photography courses at a college," She answered after thinking for a few moments, "What about you?"**

"**I don't know," I answered truthfully, "Right now I just got into my trade. When I turn sixteen next year my teachers can get a job for me at a machine shop."**

"**When's your birthday?" Donna asked inquisitively.**

"**Um," I started, a little uncomfortable, "April 23."**

**Donna looked up at me with wide eyes.**

"**That's this Saturday!" She said jumping out of her chair, "Why didn't you tell us this Saturday was your birthday."**

"**It's not that big a deal." I said shrugging. To me, it really wasn't that big a deal. It was just my fifteenth birthday.**

"**It's your birthday," Donna said bluntly and looking at me like I was crazy, "How can it not be that big a deal?"**

"**Up 'til this past year," I started to explain to her, "My family and I never really had enough money to celebrate our birthdays'. Things just got worst after my parents died.**

"**My Uncle Gary had to take care of my older sister and me for two years. When she turned sixteen she was, legally, old enough to take care of me by herself, so he had to go back to the Navy.**

"**When he left, my sister ended up depending on me for money to pay the rent and for food. Once a month I'd head out to this area called the Dunes, where I street raced. It was fifty bucks to get in and I got to rent my bike for free, cause I knew the guy in charge.**

"**I'd get about eight hundred bucks, from one night of racing. My sister spent most of it on herself.**

"**When I got accepted to go to Gotham Tech, two years later, I raced for a full month to get enough money for her to go to college while I went to school. I planned on racing while I stayed at my school guardians place, but when I told Bruce and Richard that my sister was somewhere around the world and my Uncle was in the Navy, they said I could stay at Wayne Manor."**

"**Whoa," Donna said, wide-eyed.**

**I just shrugged and grabbed one of her textbooks from her bag.**

"**So," I said, starting to change the subject, "How much homework do you have?"**

**Donna could tell I was uncomfortable with the subject of my past, so she gave in.**

"**A lot," she said before turning back to her Physics book.**

**An hour and forty-five minutes later we got up and left our hut. We silently walked down to the Battle Staves Arena. We grabbed a canoe and paddled out to the empty Arena.**

"**You ready for this?" Donna asked me as we anchored the canoe.**

**I gave a small grin and a confident smirk.**

"**I was born ready." I stated, jokingly boasting.**

**I dove into the water and swam toward the steps. I grabbed one of the sticks out of the container and went straight to the poll and started to get a little practice in. About ten minutes later Donna gave a low whistle.**

**I looked out and saw Artemis paddling toward us. She anchored her canoe next to Donnas' and mine and jumped into the water. She quickly swam over to the other side of the pole and grabbed her stick. **

"**Here are the rules," She said as soon as her feet touched the pole, "First person to fall in the water three times loses. And don't worry **_**if**_** you win, I'll keep my end of the deal, but when you lose, I'll tell Queen Hippolyta just how much of a weakling you are."**

"**She can't be that much of a weakling if she beat you, Artemis," Donna called from the canoe.**

**Artemis glared at her.**

"**Just shut up Princess and call the matches," Artemis said turning her glare to me. Donna stuck her tongue out behind her back. I giggled and Artemis' glare turned colder.**

"**Ready?" Donna started off, waiting for our nods, "Go!"**

**Artemis moved quickly down the pole and swept her stick so it would hit my head. I ducked and swept my stick low, tripping her off the pole and into the water.**

"**Kory wins," Donna said with a grin as Artemis resurfaced.**

**She swam back to the pole quickly and stepped back on.**

"**Go!" Donna said again. The moment she said that, Artemis moved quickly again.**

**She raised her stick high in the air and was going to try and bring it down to hit my shoulder. I blocked the move and shifted my stick to the side and moved my foot between hers. I shifted my stick and foot again and tripped Artemis off the pole again by pushing her back with my stick while pushing her foot forward with my foot. She fell into the water again.**

"**Two wins for Kory." Donna said as Artemis resurfaced again.**

**I looked down at the water compared to the pole. It had gotten higher. There was only three feet between the pole and water now.**

**Artemis didn't seem to notice. She climbed back on and it looked like her anger toward me had intensified. She got back onto the pole and waited for Donna to start the match.**

"**Go!" Donna said just a second before Artemis came rushing, at me holding her stick like a sword, and ready to hit me straight on.**

**Just before her stick could hit me, I ducked down held my stick horizontally with both hands and pushed her back in the stomach with it, before shifting to the side and pushing her off the pole.**

"**Kory wins the challenge!" Donna said grinning at Artemis.**

"**A deals, a deal," She growled while swimming over to the steps and putting her stick back in its case. Then she swam back to her canoe, pulled up the small anchor, and paddled back to shore.**

**Donna and I just grinned at each other before I put my stick back in its holder and swam back to the canoe.**

"**You did great," Donna said as we paddled back to shore, "You wiped the floor with her."**

"**She made it to easy," I said as we finally hit shore, "She fought to much with her anger which caused her to make a lot of mistakes."**

"**Like to keep running at you," Donna said as we pulled the canoe up further and tied it up, "When she started off like that I totally thought she was going to trip up."**

**When we walked inland I heard a very faint rustling coming from a nearby tree.**

"**I'll meet up with you at the hut," I told Donna while stopping just a few feet away from the tree, "I feel like taking a walk."**

"**Kay," Donna said looking a little skeptical, "I'll see ya in the morning."**

**I nodded and watched her walk away. I waited a few extra moments to make sure she didn't come back.**

**I turned to the tree and went to climb up it. When I got to the third branch I saw Dianas' sapphire eyes staring at me.**

"**Hey," I said uncomfortably while taking a seat on a nearby branch, "Saw the match?"**

"**Yes." She answered shortly.**

**I sighed.**

"**She challenged me yesterday before I started teaching the instructors," I started explaining to her, "I didn't lie to you when I told you I wanted to learn to play Battle Staves. Actually when you asked me why I wanted to know about Battle Staves, I didn't lie. I…just didn't tell you the whole truth."**

**Diana just sat there staring at me with a disappointed look in her eye. After a few minutes of silence she finally sighed.**

"**I shouldn't be surprised you'd pull something like this," she started off, the disappointment still evident in her eyes, "I guess now it's just more evident how your like Bruce, Dick, and Selina. You have a problem completely trusting people."**

**She was right.**

"**It's not that I don't trust you Diana, because I do," I started off, "I'm just used to keeping things to myself and giving information like that to people my own age. I know its something I have to work on, but…It's just hard to put my full trust in adults because they usually see me as just that, a kid."**

**Diana gave me a small comforting smile.**

"**I understand," she said the disappointment in her eyes changing to understanding, "My mother looks at me the same way. As a little girl that doesn't completely understand the world around me." She placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, "You can trust me Kory. If you ever have a problem, need help training, or just want to talk, you can talk to me. I promise I'll listen to you like an equal, not an adult that thinks that their opinion is better just because they're older."**

**From that moment I realized just how much I needed people like Diana and Donna in my life. They understood me on a level my uncle and sister never had. They understood me like Richard, Tim, Bruce, and Selina do. Like the other Titans do.**

"**Thanks Diana," I said giving her a soft smile.**

"**No problem," she said jumping down to the ground. As soon as I touched down she continued, "Dick, Selina and Bruce needed the same reassurance, so I'm pretty used to this conversation. Although I have to say you and Selina were much easier to convince then Bruce and Dick."**

**I laughed a little.**

"**Let me guess," I said thinking about what it would take for Bruce and Richard to start trusting people, "Clark had a breakthrough with them first."**

"**You got it," Diana said as we started off back in the direction of Donna and my hut.**

"**You knew all along didn't you?" I asked when we were about halfway to the hut.**

"**Yeah," Diana said looking down at me.**

"**How?" I asked curiously.**

"**Well," Diana said as we kept walking, "After years of using my lasso of truth, I've learned to tell when someone is hiding something from me or just plain lying."**

"**Cool," I said as we reached the hut, "Thanks for the talk Diana."**

"**No problem Kory," She said with a smile, "I'll see you at breakfast."**

**I waved bye before unlocking the door. I locked the door behind me and looked over at the bottom bunk. Donna was asleep.**

**I took a quick shower and changed back into my toga before heading to bed. I hoped I woke up early.**

**Tomorrow I had some extra teaching to do.**

A/N: This is the longest chapter of the story. And this author's note is just adding to that, so...

Please review!


	5. Day 4

Disclaimer: Don't own characters. DC does. I just own the plot. Don't sue.

This story is in Kory's POV and is a tie-in to my other story 'Teen Titans: Year 1.'

**Day Four**

**Time to Teach**

**Luckily I woke up an hour before sunrise. I grabbed a clean pair of clothes and took a quick shower. After I got out I went and woke up Donna.**

"**Wake up," I said shaking her shoulders.**

"**What is it?" She said sleepily while getting up.**

"**I got a surprise for you," I told her half pulling her out of bed, "But you gotta shower and change first. Move!"**

"**Okay, okay," She said rubbing her eyes and grabbing a new set of clothes.**

**She took a fifteen minute shower before coming out dressed in a fresh toga and tying her hair back.**

"**So what's the surprise?" She asked as we left the hut.**

"**I'm gonna teach you how to play Battle Staves," I told her with a smile.**

**She stopped and looked up at me with wide eyes.**

"**I don't think that's such a good idea Kory," She said looking down at her sandaled feet.**

"**C'mon," I said practically dragging her to the arena, "It's just you and me. No one will see you practicing and you'll probably get it in no time."**

"**I don't think so," Donna said as they pulled out a canoe.**

"**Trust me." I stated and we paddled off.**

**We anchored the canoe and swam over to the pole and got started.**

**We practiced for an hour and unsurprisingly, (to me at least) Donna was really good. She just needed to work on her balance.**

**Balance was the hardest part of the game.**

**By the end of the hour, Donna couldn't knock me down, but she definitely hung in there.**

"**See?" I said as we tied up the canoe, "I told you you'd be good. Turns out I was wrong."**

"**Wrong?" She asked, looking confused as we walked into the castle.**

"**Yeah," I said frowning a bit before grinning, "You were great."**

"**Well I wouldn't even be this good if it wasn't for you," she said as we walked into the dining hall, "If it wasn't for your training a few months ago, I'd have probably made the same mistakes Artemis had last night."**

**She was right. If she was fighting the way she used to she would have probably run ahead when she started like Artemis had last night. It's not always the first one to attack that gains the upper hand.**

**We were some of the last few that had breakfast that late.**

"**So what do you want to do now?" Donna asked as we finished up breakfast.**

"**I don't know," I said thinking, "How bout we go for a run along the beach?"**

"**Works for me," Donna said as we walked down to the beach.**

"**Okay," I said standing in front of the apple tree I had gone to yesterday, "Four laps, loser does laundry this afternoon."**

"**Deal," Donna said slapping my hand before making a fake starting line.**

"**Ready," I started.**

"**Set," She continued.**

"**Go!" we both yelled before running off.**

**We ran past the Battle Staves Arena, Canoe Racing Rapids, and past the archery targets.**

**Donna won lap one, while I won lap two. I ran a little faster and won lap three.**

**We were neck and neck during most of lap four.**

**I had to pull ahead. When I picked up speed, she picked up speed too.**

**Ten feet from the finish line.**

**Donna was starting to pull ahead.**

**Five feet.**

**I picked up my pace.**

**Finish line.**

**Tie.**

**We had to laugh. After all that running it turned out to be a tie.**

"**I totally thought you would've pulled up more," Donna said as she took a seat in the sand.**

"**I thought you had pulled to far ahead," I told her thinking back to when she had pulled ahead.**

**We took a few minutes to catch our breath before racing again. We raced three more times and I finally won on the last time.**

"**Nice race," Diana said as we fell to the sand, "How many times have you raced this morning anyway?"**

"**Four times…" Donna answered still trying to catch her breath, "Each four laps."**

**Diana nodded in understanding.**

"**Come on," Diana said helping us up, "The best way to catch your breath is to eat. It's lunchtime."**

**During all the fun we had racing we had totally lost track of time.**

**We followed Diana back up to the castle and into the dining hall.**

**As soon as I saw the food I knew how right Diana was. I ate about twice of what I usually do and, by the time I was done, I felt like I was ready to run all over again.**

"**I'll see ya later," I told Diana and Donna as we split apart.**

**I walked down to the area where I usually met with the trainers and saw them working on controlling their strength.**

"**Great," I said once they stopped and caught sight of me, "Lets practice on your hearing and feeling senses and then work on sight. Touch is the hardest and will take more time to learn. You also have to be good with your other senses and strength. Smell doesn't really help unless you are fighting someone in darkness or when you can't see."**

**We spent an hour practicing with hearing the things around them and feeling the wind from movement.**

"**Okay," I started off as they took a seat in front of me, "The next lesson is sight. Sometimes what you see your opponent try to do isn't actually what they plan to.**

"**An example: Your opponent raises their right fist and brings back their left," I started, showing them, "You automatically think they are going to switch fists and hit you in the gut. What they could actually be doing is faking you out. They make you think they are going to hit you in the gut when they could flip onto their hands and kick at you.**

"**Pair up and start coming up with different moves to use on each other. Think of all the possibilities. Along the way you'll learn to use your smelling senses. Everything and everyone has a distinct scent. If you can pick up that scent, you'll be able to tell where your opponent is, whether it's a wild animal or another person."**

**As soon as I finished they did as I said and started training. This was much harder for them then the other training sessions, so it took them four hours to learn how to start reading each other.**

**The level each of them were at wasn't that high either but it was definitely a start.**

"**Great," I said as they sat down. I could tell they were tired but, because they're Amazons they wouldn't admit it, "Tomorrow we'll work on this a little more and start the final step Thursday."**

**They happily got up and walked back inland.**

**I walked back inland and headed straight for the castle and dinner.**

**When I got to my seat Donna, Diana, and Queen Hippolyta were not in their seats. They weren't even in the room. Usually one of them waited for me.**

**They didn't come in at all.**

**The detective in me just couldn't stop coming up with theories about where they were or what they were doing. I ate a small salad before heading out of the large dining hall.**

**When I left the castle I decided to head back to the hut and see if Donna was in.**

**She wasn't.**

**I took a seat in the wooden chair and picked out one of Donnas' books.**

**It was a journal.**

**I quickly closed it, but not before a small picture began to stick out and I could see part of a man's face.**

**I couldn't help myself. I pulled it out.**

**It was a picture of a family.**

**There was a man with brown hair, brown eyes, and a big grin. He looked to be about forty. Next to him was a woman with dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and a huge grin as well. What really caught my attention, however, was that on the man's back was a little girl.**

**A little girl that looked exactly like Donna.**

**I shouldn't be looking at this. **

**I quickly stuck the picture back in its place and shut the book.**

**I climbed into bed and turned to my side.**

**Donna had a family. How?**

**With that final thought I went into a dreamless sleep.**

A/N: For those wishing to find out more about Donna, and even about the other Titans, you should check out my side story, _Secret Files & Origins_, which includes my version of the Titans origins as well as some little side stories!

Or you can just wait for the next update for more on Donna! Please review!


	6. Day 5

Disclaimer: Don't own characters. DC does. I just own the plot. Don't sue.

This story is in Kory's POV and is a tie-in to my other story 'Teen Titans: Year 1.'

**Day Five**

**Revealing the Past**

**When I woke up the next morning Donna was sleeping in her bunk.**

**The picture immediately came back to mind.**

**I grabbed some fresh clothes and took a quick shower before heading out.**

**As I went past a banana tree I saw Queen Hippolyta picking some. She saw me and waved me over.**

"**Good morning your highness," I greeted her as I walked over.**

"**Good morning Korina," She greeted with a smile, before holding out a banana, "Would you like one?"**

**I smiled.**

"**Thanks," I said grabbing the banana and peeling it.**

"**So," She said as we started walking, "Where are you from?"**

"**The United States of America," I told her instantly. She shook her head lightly.**

"**I'm sorry," She said with a soft smile, "Maybe I should ask specifically. What's your heritage?"**

"**Oh," I said smiling once more, "My family comes from the island of Tamaran. It's a small island a few hundred miles away from Europe."**

**She nodded her head before asking, "What traditions do you usually have?"**

"**I really don't know that much about it," I said, sighing, "My grandparents sailed from Tamaran to New York and then moved to Gotham.**

"**Not a lot of Tamaranians live in the States, but my parents were both full blood which makes me full blood as well.**

"**When you're fourteen, your supposed to make a trip to Tamaran and learn about the culture for a few weeks. My older sister got to take the trip and I was supposed to this summer, but decided not to."**

"**Why didn't you?" The Queen asked me curiously before taking a bite of her banana.**

"**I got accepted to a technical school," I answered. When I saw she didn't know what I meant, I explained, "It's a school where they teach you regular academic courses, but also a trade. Trades could be things like Carpentry, Plumbing and Heating, Computers, things like that. They also set you up with jobs when you're sixteen."**

**She nodded in understanding.**

"**Well I was accepted to this new technical school in Gotham," I continued, "And I had to be in Gotham by June 15. Around that same time, my uncle was supposed to pick me up and take me to Tamaran.**

"**When it came time to choose, I picked Gotham. I just felt that going there would…" I paused and she patiently waited as I tried to find the right words, "That I was meant to go back there. I was right."**

"**Are you happy with your decision?" she asked as we stopped.**

"**I've never been this happy in a long while." I answered with a grin.**

**Just as she was about to ask me another question, a guard came up in gold armor and a matching helmet, carrying a spear.**

"**Your majesty," the guard said, "Your daughter, Princess Diana, wishes to speak with you about this coming weekend."**

**Queen Hippolyta gave her thanks before sending the guard away.**

"**It was nice talking to you Korina," She said, "I must go but I shall see you later."**

**Before she could walk away I had an idea.**

"**Um, your majesty," I said after she took a few steps, "I was wondering if I could teach in the mornings from now on. That way the instructors can teach their students immediately after lunch, while the lesson is still fresh in their minds."**

"**I think that's a wonderful idea." Queen Hippolyta said grinning at me, "I'll have them meet with you in an hour."**

**I grinned and gave my thanks before she walked away.**

**I went back to the banana tree and pulled down two more before heading to the training spot.**

**As I reached the training area I had finished all three of my bananas and decided to sit down and relax. Just as I had cleared my mind I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up and saw all the instructors.**

"**Sorry for changing the schedule on you," I told them as I got up. Before I could continue, however, Natalie spoke up.**

"**It's okay," She cut in grinning, "We love these lessons and Queen Hippolyta told us your reason for changing the time."**

"**Yes," Said an instructor with dirty blonde hair, "And it's completely understandable."**

"**Okay then," I said as they stood in front of me, "Lets pick up where we left off yesterday."**

**We practiced for five hours in the morning sun. Finally in the last two hours, they mastered it.**

"**Great tomorrow we work on touch," I said as they rested in the warm sand, "When we work on touch, we bring all of the other senses together. The process is going to last for a few days. Judging by the time it took you just to get to this point though; you should probably master the process by Friday."**

**They smiled with pride before walking out of the area and toward the castle.**

**I decided to skip lunch and head to the other side of the island. I figured I could probably pick some fruit up on the way.**

**I walked through the large island and saw girls of almost every age running into the castle for lunch.**

**I walked over to the other end of the island and spotted a rock formation a few feet above the water. I walked over, sat at the edge and stared out at the calm sea.**

**I sat there for about a half hour before I heard someone walk up behind me. Judging by the footsteps I could tell it was Donna.**

"**Hungry?" She asked as she took a seat next to me and handed me an apple. I took it and just stared at it.**

"**I saw a picture last night," I started off. I had to tell her, "I was waiting up for you and pulled out a book. When I saw it was your journal I shut it, but not before I saw a picture of you. And your family."**

**I looked over at her and saw her staring out at the ocean with tears in her eyes.**

"**I had just turned ten," She said, starting to get a far off look in her eyes, "Diana had agreed to take one of the younger Amazons to the outside world with her. She set it up so the winner could stay and grow up in the real world like a normal human. I won and she brought me to meet the Stacey's'.**

"**They did everything they could to make sure I was comfortable. They taught me about things I needed to know in their world and sent me to school. It was so much fun having a mom and dad.**

"**Then, about a year later, there was a fire.**

"**I remember walking home from school and a few blocks away, I started to smell smoke. I ran over to see where it was coming from and when I saw it was from the street I lived on I ran a little faster.**

"**I was too late. They were burned to death. After that, Diana came and got me and brought me to the Embassy. She made me her cousin there and, after what happened with the Stacey's I didn't feel like going back to school. Diana set me up so I was home schooled and a few weeks later I got to visit the island again.**

"**It had seemed so different after a year in the outside world. A few nights after I got back to the island I called on the goddess Athena.**

"**When I told her about what happened she called upon the other gods and blessed me with about a quarter of Dianas' power. They said every year it would grow, just as Diana's does.**

"**When I got back, I convinced Diana to let me help her in her fight for justice. Ever since, I worked hard to stop what happened to me, from happening to anyone else."**

**By the end of her story a few stray tears fell from her eyes. She quickly wiped them away.**

**She had just shared one of her biggest secrets with me. She was trusting me on a whole new level. I figure it's time to let her know how much I trust her too.**

"**My parents died when I was ten too," I started off, remembering that night, "My grandparents had died and we went to Gotham for their funeral. My sister was fourteen and had went to Tamaran with my uncle a few weeks before their death.**

"**It was just my mom, dad, and me. That same weekend, a crime boss known as Tony Zucco had escaped from prison.**

"**It was a few days after the funeral. It was dark and raining hard. We were leaving the city and were the only car on the road when, out of nowhere, a guy jumped out from an alley and in front of our car. My dad slammed on the brakes just in time.**

"**The guy walked over to the window and before my dad could even open the door, he pulled out a gun and shot my dad in the head. My mom screamed for a second before another shot went off, and she was dead too. I was frozen in the back seat. **

"**It's not like I hadn't seen death before. People died everyday just walking down the streets of Citadel. But these weren't just strangers on the street. These people were my parents, and they were dead.**

"**He broke through the glass on the drivers' window and unlocked the door. He grabbed my parents' bodies and threw them onto the sidewalk like bails of hay. He finally caught sight of me after he threw my moms' body out of the car.**

"**I remember those eyes the most. They were cold and uncaring.**

"**Just before he could raise his gun to me, Batman came and threw him out of the car. He punched him until he was knocked out. After he did, I stepped out of the car and slowly walked over to my parents bodies. I remember Batman turning and looking at me. Then he said, in a voice full of defeat, 'I'm Sorry.'**

"**I just stared at them, then Zucco, then Batman and I knew what I had to do.**

"**On that day, I made a promise to myself that I would do anything within my power to stop what happened to me from happening to anyone else.**

"**Later on, when I was at police headquarters, Bruce came by. He talked to the Commissioner about if I had any family to stay with. Commissioner Gordon told him that my uncle was coming. When he turned to look at me, I could see the pain in his eyes. It was then I knew he was Batman. He wouldn't have looked so guilty if he wasn't.**

"**When I got back to Citadel, my uncle tried to get me to talk about what happened or how I was feeling but I knew, no matter how many times I tried to explain my feelings to him, he'd never understand, so I didn't bother. My sister didn't care. She just went around acting like she normally would have.**

"**The thing neither of them knew, though, was that my mom was pregnant. She told me a few days before her death. She was about four months along and found out it was a boy. Ryan. That's what my parents wanted to name him.**

"**Zucco didn't just kill my parents that night. He killed my little brother too."**

**I knew the only thing in my eyes was sorrow. I haven't cried since before I could even remember.**

**Donna seemed to be crying for me.**

"**I hadn't told that to anyone other than Richard before," I told her quietly, "The whole story. The others just know my parents were killed."**

"**I can understand why," she replied quietly as well, "I mean, not a lot of people understand what we've been through."**

"**Which is why a lot of people don't understand why we do what we do," I looked over to her and smiled.**

**For the past four years we had both been working hard for the same cause and felt the same way about our feelings. Not a lot of people really can relate to us.**

"**You haven't talked about this in a while, have you?" Donna asked me as she wiped the tears from her eyes.**

"**No," I told her honestly, "Not with someone who understands like you and Richard do."**

"**How do you feel now that you have?" She asked turning to look at me.**

"**I feel good." I told her. It was the truth. Just talking about it with someone that completely understands the pain, and letting the pain out made me feel good. Even if I never let the pain out through tears.**

**She smiled and we walked back to the inland and straight to our hut.**

**Donna spent the rest of the afternoon finishing up her homework and I helped her a bit.**

**We went to dinner and ate in silence.**

**All through dinner Queen Hippolyta and Diana were whispering to each other.**

**I couldn't catch a word they were saying.**

**After dinner Donna and I said our goodnights and went to bed.**

**I had a million thoughts running through my head.**

A/N: A little more insight into both Kory and Donna's lives pre-Year 1. Hope you enjoyed it!

Thanks for reading, please review!


	7. Day 6

Disclaimer: Don't own characters. DC does. I just own the plot. Don't sue.

This story is in Kory's POV and is a tie-in to my other story 'Teen Titans: Year 1.'

**Day Six**

**Before and After**

**I woke up the next morning and immediately remembered everything from yesterday.**

**As I took my shower, all I could think about was how Donna and my relationship changed.**

**When I met her, all I could think about was how she was the better hero. She had years of experience over me and had **_**The Greatest Female Superhero**_** as her mentor. **

**Now, I realize just how much she's like me. She lost her parents like I did. The only difference is, the person who killed my parents was put away. Was Donnas?**

**With that final thought I got dressed and found Donna standing there and waiting for me to get out. She quickly got in the bathroom and closed the door behind her.**

**We hadn't really talked since we shared our secrets and even though it looked like we were just drifting farther apart, we had actually grown closer.**

**I walked out of the hut and headed over to the castle.**

**I got to breakfast a little before most of the Amazons did. It was best to get an early start since I had switched my class times around.**

**I had my usual fruit for breakfast, an apple, a couple of bananas, and some grapes before heading out.**

**I walked over to the training area and waited for the other instructors.**

**When they showed up, I immediately got started.**

"**Okay," I started off as they sat in front of me, "Today we are going to bring all our senses together along with touch. Touch is a simple sense. When you feel the wind around you, you know where you want to hit your opponent.**

"**We're basically going to be sparring now. All I want you to do is start using your senses to try and figure out what move your opponent will make and block it. It's going to take some time, but I'll let you know when you're done.**

"**The thing about using your senses, even on the average level, is that most of the time you don't even know when you're doing it. By the end of the lesson you should be able to tell when you use it or not."**

**We worked on it for five hours. Whenever they had some trouble I would go in and help them, but I could only do so much.**

**By the last hour they seemed to have improved a little.**

"**Okay, we'll work on it again tomorrow after breakfast," I told them as they got up to leave, "You girls did great today."**

**After they left I headed over to the castle for an early lunch. When I got there, Diana was in her seat and eating pretty quickly.**

"**Hey Diana," I greeted her as I took my seat.**

"**Hey Kory," she said after she smiled, "I'm sorry, but I really can't talk right now. I'm kind of in a rush."**

"**That's okay," I told her as she finished her lunch and left the dining hall.**

**I ate a quick lunch before heading back to the beach. I grabbed a few rocks and started skipping them when Donna came up.**

"**Wanna go canoeing?" She asked me as she grabbed a rock and threw it. It skipped fives times.**

"**Sure." I said turning to her. She smiled and led me over to the canoes. We grabbed one and started paddling around the island.**

"**So was it an accident?" I asked after a few minutes of paddling. I knew she would know what I meant.**

"**No one knows," she finally said as we were a few feet away from the island, "Diana tried to find out, she even had Bruce and Selina try and check it out. The police said it was an accident, but Bruce and Selina think otherwise."**

**If Bruce and Selina think otherwise, so do I.**

"**What were you like before your parents died?" She asked me as we paddled around the island.**

"**I wasn't anything like I am now," I told her, "When I was little, my parents told my sister to watch out for me whenever I went out or to school. She would always walk me about a block before dumping me and saying 'It's everyone for themselves.' I remember the first time I walked to school after she said that. I was six years old and scared. As I walked past different alleys I saw people being raped, killed, and beaten up. I had already started my martial arts training when I was four and a half so I could protect myself a little but by then but I couldn't beat up those types of people yet.**

"**You know when you're little and you have an older brother or sister, you just naturally look up to them and follow their example?" I looked up and saw her nod, "I followed my sisters' example. 'Everyone for themselves.' I trained hard and only looked out for me and my family. Whenever I passed someone about to get beat up or die on the streets, I'd just walk pass it, even though I knew I could've helped them. I thought it was the way things were supposed to be, especially since no one ever told me different.**

"**When my mom told me I was gonna be a big sister, that's when I started thinking differently. I realized that the way Kam brought me up to believe in the rule was wrong. I told myself that I'd teach my little brother different. That I'd stop watching out for myself and start looking out for the others on the street as well.**

"**I realized a while ago that up until my parents died, that was an empty promise.**

"**When I got back to Citadel after they died, I lived up to that promise. Whenever I saw someone about to be raped or killed, I'd stop and help them, but the guilt was still there. The guilt that if I had stopped and helped before my parents died, hundreds of peoples lives could have been spared, but I just walked by. There is always gonna be apart of me that will regret that."**

"**You carry a lot of guilt." Donna said. It wasn't a question. It was a fact, "You're not responsible for those deaths. You didn't know any better because you were taught differently."**

**She was right, but it didn't change the way I felt. No matter how many lives I helped save, before or after I joined the Titans, that guilt will never go away.**

"**What'd you do after they died?" She asked me after a few minutes of silence.**

"**My uncle lived with us for two years," I told her as we stopped at the other end of the island, "He's in the Navy and agreed that when my sister turned sixteen, he'd go back. I trained hard and fought almost everyone on the streets. No matter who I helped, no one was grateful.**

"**I remember that a week before he left I got into this fight late one night. A knife had cut me right here," I paused and showed her a thin scar on the back of my right calf, "I remember when I came home and it was bleeding. He yelled at me saying things like 'I bet if your parents were alive you wouldn't be going off and getting into fights,' and 'If you keep getting into fights like this, your going to end up getting yourself killed.'**

"**I know he cares about me, but he just wouldn't understand why I actually fought. He just thought it was because of my anger or something. He wouldn't understand that I was actually just trying to help the people out there.**

"**After my uncle left, my sister, Kam, had trouble paying the rent. She tried getting money by becoming a stripper but she only ended up with fifty bucks every two weeks. Our rent was four hundred a month.**

"**I hated her job so I went out and raced for the money. After she found out that I could make about six hundred dollars from just one night of street racing, she quit her job and depended on me for the income.**

"**When I got accepted to Gotham Tech, I raced for a whole month to get her enough money to leave Citadel to. She said she was going to use it for college but I knew she was going to blow it on something stupid like gambling in Vegas. I planned on racing in Gotham too, just incase my guardian didn't want to put up with me during holidays and stuff, but Bruce said I could live in Wayne Manor."**

"**So you don't even know where your sister is now?" Donna asked shocked.**

"**Nope," I said as I started paddling again, "She never really cared about anyone but herself. She even left Citadel before I could."**

"**So then," Donna started as she started paddling too, "Where did you stay until you did leave?"**

"**With my sensei," I told her simply, "He was probably the only nice person in the entire city. He owned a candy store down the street from my place that was passed through his family through generations. I remember asking him if he'd ever leave Citadel, he said not if an atomic bomb was going to fall on it.**

"**His family had lived there since the city was built and are all buried up at an old cemetery about a mile outside of the town. He told me he'd like to be buried there if he ever died."**

**Donna nodded in understanding as we paddled the rest of the way in silence. When we got back to where we had gotten the canoe, we jumped out and got it up into the sand and tied it up tight.**

**We headed for the castle and dinner.**

"**So what's your shop?" Donna asked me as we entered the large dining hall.**

"**I'm in Manufacturing with Richard," I told her as we walked to our seats, "That way I can learn about different metals to improve my suit with."**

"**Cool," She said grinning as we took our seats and ate.**

**After dinner we headed back to our hut.**

"**Too bad we only have two more days here," Donna said with a little disappointment.**

"**Really?" I asked surprised, "I can't believe Spring Break is almost over."**

"**Yeah," Donna said before yawning, "Next week it's back to school,"**

"**And back to work," I said with a small smile. Hanging out here on the island was fun, but I couldn't wait to get back into my suit.**

"**What do you mean work?" Donna asked from her place in the bottom bunk.**

"**It's what we call it when we're in school or out in a store or something," I explained, "Also, Bruce pays us like $500 a month to help watch the city. So far I haven't used any of my money up other than for Richards' birthday. I got him a book on new metals. He said he was looking for stronger metals to make stronger utility belts and weaponry for the Titans."**

"**That's cool," Donna said, then I could tell she was grinning with her next words, "My birthday's in August. Mind gettin me a gold watch."**

**I laughed.**

"**Sure," I told her playfully, "As long as you get me my own country."**

**We laughed for a few minutes before we started to get tired again.**

"**Night Donna," I told her as I started to drift off to sleep.**

"**Night Kory," I barely heard Donna mumble.**

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review!


	8. Day 7 and 8

Disclaimer: Don't own characters. DC does. I just own the plot. Don't sue.

This story is in Kory's POV and is a tie-in to my other story 'Teen Titans: Year 1.'

**Day Seven**

**Training**

**I woke up and jumped out of bed about a half hour before the sun rose.**

**I took a shower and got changed just before Donna woke up. I left the hut and headed over to the castle for breakfast. As I was walking in, Diana was heading out.**

"**Good morning Kory," She greeted me with a soft smile as she stepped out into the hall, "Listen, Donna is probably going to be busy with mother this afternoon. I was wondering if you wanted to learn some more sword fighting techniques."**

"**Are you kidding me?" I said with a huge grin, "That'd be awesome."**

"**Great," Diana said with a smile, "I'll meet you at the practice area after lunch."**

**I waved goodbye to her as she walked out and headed into the dining hall.**

**I ate breakfast in silence and left to go to the training spot.**

**When the instructors arrived we went straight to work. By the third hour they had finally arrived at the average level. They kept practicing for another two hours until they were finally done.**

"**You girls have been great," I told them with a huge smile, "You have arrived at the average level and your training is complete. Congratulations."**

**They let out a whoop of happiness before thanking me and walking off.**

**I headed over to the castle and ate lunch.**

**I left right after I finished and headed over to the sword fighting area.**

**When I got there Diana was already waiting for me with a sword and shield.**

"**Hey," She said as she saw me approach, "Ready to get started?"**

"**You bet." I told her as she handed me the extra sword and shield.**

**I quickly got set and went into my usual position.**

"**Okay," She said as she raised her sword, "First lesson is the Knockout. When you use this technique you're basically using your opponent's weight against them.**

"**When your opponent strikes at you," she said, starting to show me the move in slow motion, "You block the strike with your shield or sword, bring your sword around theirs until it reaches the hilt and flick it out of their hand using leverage. Then you trip them up so they fall on top of your feet and use your weight to bring them back until their head hits the ground. Got it?"**

**I nodded and got the move down on the first try.**

"**Excellent," She said with a smile.**

**She taught me a few more moves before pulling out a blindfold.**

"**Ready for the next level?" She asked, holding up the black blindfold. **

"**Sure," I said lowering my sword and shield as she walked over and tied the blindfold.**

"**How many fingers am I holding up?" She asked, now standing in front of me. I couldn't see.**

"**Um," I started guessing, "four?"**

"**Good." Was all she said as I heard her pick up her sword and shield once more.**

**I heard the sword gently cut the air as I felt a soft wind come off of it. She had lifted it up and toward her.**

**I brought my sword up and faced her.**

"**Ready?" She asked. I nodded.**

**As soon as I nodded she brought her foot forward and brought her sword around to try to cut off my head. I blocked the attack with my sword and we both brought it back.**

**She took a step over and attacked from the side. I blocked her sword with my shield and crossed my sword over to her. She blocked my attack with her shield as well.**

**We kept up the match for hours, neither catching the other off guard.**

**Finally it was time for dinner and neither of us had finished the match.**

"**You're really good," Diana said, grinning as I took my blindfold off.**

"**Thanks," I said grinning as well, "But you're way better."**

"**Well I do have enhanced strength on my side," She told me with a smile as she started putting the gear away.**

"**Just think if I had my Starfire suit on," I told her as we headed over to the castle, "We'd be able to fight a lot harder."**

"**You know what I always wanted to try, but never had the time, even with Donna," She said as we walked inside to castle, "I always wanted to have a sword fight in the sky. Clark isn't that much of a sword fighter and Bruce can't fly. It also wouldn't be that good to fight with Donna over the New York skyline."**

"**I could just see the headlines now," I said, actually thinking about it, "****'Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl: Sword Fight in the Sky- Tickets now on sale!'**** "**

**We both laughed as we entered the large dining hall. We quickly calmed down and headed to our seats.**

**Dinner was eaten in silence. Donna and Queen Hippolyta hadn't been seen since breakfast.**

**I said goodnight to Diana before heading off to bed. As I walked out of the castle, the little blonde haired girl from my first fight with Artemis went running past me.**

**I smiled at her before walking back to my hut.**

**Tomorrow's my birthday.**

**It's also my last day on the island.**

**With those thoughts, I went to sleep.**

**Day Eight**

**Surprises**

**When I woke up the next morning Donna had just finished changing.**

"**Morning," She told me as I got out of bed, "Since your done training the instructors, I thought it'd be a good idea if we had breakfast here. That way, we could talk."**

"**Okay," I said as I got my clothes and headed into the bathroom.**

**I came out a half hour later dressed for my last day.**

**When I got out Donna was eating an apple at the table and had put on her special Wonder Girl bracelets. Each had an outline of a star etched near the top and were said to be unbreakable.**

"**So," I said as I took a seat, "You wanna go swimming or something later?"**

"**No," She said pretty fast. She was up to something, "Let's just hang here for a while."**

"**Okay." I said simply, not letting her know that I knew that she was up to something.**

**I ate a quick breakfast and got up.**

"**What are you doing?" Donna asked, getting up from her seat.**

"**You know," I said trying to get around her and to the door, "If you're trying to hide something from me, which I know you are, you're not doing a good job of it."**

"**You're still not leaving until I say so," She told me as we finally stood toe-to-toe. We stared at each other for a bit, neither of us letting our guard down.**

"**And what if I do try to leave?" I asked her with a smirk.**

"**Then I'll knock you out with my backpack and most of my strength." She answered, smirking right back at me.**

"**No you won't." I said looking her straight in the eye.**

"**Wanna bet?" She challenged, looking me in the eye as well.**

**She wouldn't do it, we both knew it but the only way I was gonna figure out what was going on, was if I waited. She knew that too.**

**I grabbed a chair and sat down. Donna took a seat and moved it so it was in front of the door.**

"**So," I said after a few moments of silence, "What do you want to talk about?"**

"**I don't know," she answered, starting to think. Finally, a few minutes later, her eyes lit up, "Who, in the entire world, can you not stand?"**

**That was a hard question. It's rare when I find someone I really don't like and am willing to probably bite the persons head off at any time.**

"**Kitten Moth," I answered finally, glaring at the floor as I said the girls' name, "She's a freshman with Richard, Vic, Karen and I and has a huge crush on Richard. Her voice is really annoying, like a mixture of valley girl and total baby, you know, whiney. She practically stalks Richard around school and screams out that she's his girlfriend to everyone, even though it isn't true.**

"**We all scream at her whenever she's near us and sit as far away from her as possible whenever she's in class with us. It's actually gotten so bad, that we had Bruce help us file a restraining order so that she had to stand at least twelve feet away from us whenever she's near us and can never set foot within two miles of Wayne Manor. As far as I know the order is still pending."**

"**Wow," was all Donna could say. I just nodded my head.**

**We talked for the morning and most of the afternoon about our enemies and our friends from just high school.**

**Finally as the sun set, Donna got out of her seat.**

"**Here," She said, pulling out a black blindfold, "I need you to put this on before I lead you over."**

**I nodded and tied the blindfold tight. I heard the door open and Donna grabbed me by the shoulders and steered me out of the hut.**

**She carefully guided me over the marble castle steps and through the castle.**

**We walked for what seemed like miles and by the time we reached our destination, I could already tell it was night.**

**Finally I started to feel a soft warmth from in front of me. It was a small fire. No, wait, twelve small fires, six on each side.**

**Donna untied the blindfold and I could finally see that we were outside in one of the many open areas of the island.**

**In front of me was every Amazon on the island, all dressed in white togas. There was a walkway lit up by the twelve torches, which I had felt the heat of the fire from before.**

**All the Amazons were in an almost complete circle at the end of the walkway in front of a large bonfire.**

**Behind the fire, I could see Queen Hippolytas' crown shining in the firelight. Diana was there as well because I saw her bracelets sparkling in the firelight as well.**

**Donna rushed around the Amazons and took a seat on her mothers left side.**

**I slowly walked down the walkway and when I got to the circle to complete it, I sat down. As I sat, Queen Hippolyta stood.**

"**Korina of Gotham," She started. Donna and Diana must have told her where I was from, "Please step forward."**

**I stood back up and walked between half of the Amazons and the fire.**

**What the hell was going on?**

**That was the thought that kept running through my mind since the moment my blindfold had been taken off.**

**I stopped in front of Queen Hippolyta and waited for her to continue.**

"**When you came to this island," She started, looking down at me with her sapphire eyes full of happiness, "You were a fourteen year old outsider with a mission. A mission to prove how equal women from the outside world are compared to the Amazons of Themyscira. Instead you have proved more.**

"**You have proved that some women from the outside world are not only equivalent, but better than the Amazons. You have graciously helped us become better women instead of trying to put yourself above us.**

"**You treat us as equals as you do the men of your world. You have acted like you are one of us, not better, and for all those reasons and more, I wish for you to become the first outsider to ever become an Amazon."**

**I was totally floored.**

**They want me to become one of them?**

**I don't know how long I stood there just staring at her with wide-eyes but I finally shook it off and smiled.**

**They wanted me to be an Amazon.**

**Me!**

"**It would be an honor your majesty." I said truthfully. Over the past week the island had become a second home to me.**

**This island was my second home, and all the people who lived on it were like my second family. The Titans will always be my first.**

"**I am glad to hear that Korina," Queen Hippolyta replied with a kind smile, "Please kneel."**

**I did as she said as Diana handed her a longsword.**

"**On this night," She started as she placed the blade flat against my right shoulder, "I, Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons, name you, Korina Anders of Gotham City, an Amazon of the highest order."**

**She removed the sword and told me to stand.**

"**Now Korina," She said as she placed he sword back in its scabbard, "I believe that today is your fifteenth birthday."**

**The moment she said that, I turned my gaze to Donna. She was grinning at me.**

"**In addition to your new rank as Amazon," Queen Hippolyta continued as I returned my gaze to her, "I also honor you with this."**

**She handed me a beautiful golden handled sword with my name on the scabbard. As I pulled the sword out of the scabbard I saw my real name on it.**

**Starfire.**

"**It is especially made for you," the Queen continued as I looked up from the sword to her, "If anyone else tries to use the sword, without your verbal permission, it will change into a magical rope and bind them until you return. Also your name is only shown to you and anyone else that knows your double identity. To others it only shows the name Starfire, so you might wish to keep it with your things related to that persona."**

**I was a little shocked that she knew I had a double identity, but then I figured Diana must have explained it to her a long time ago.**

"**Thank you your majesty," I told her as I bowed, "This is one the best birthday gifts I've ever gotten."**

**She smiled at me once more before taking her seat. As she sat, Diana rose.**

**In her hands was a wooden box with a small gold lock and two small spaces to each side of the lock, big enough to fit the tips of my thumbs in.**

"**I had Hephaestus make these for you," She said as she held the box in front of me, "You never know when these could come in handy."**

**She walked right in front of me, still holding the box.**

"**Put your thumbs in each hole." She told me as I gently leaned the sword against my leg.**

**I did as she told. The moment my thumbs went into the holes, the box glowed gold for a moment before unlocking.**

"**Go ahead," Diana told me with a smile, "Open it."**

**I opened the box and saw two silver bracelets almost exactly like Diana and Donnas'. The only difference was that there wasn't star on the front wrist side.**

"**Put them on," Diana said still smiling, "You'll see just why they were made for you."**

**I pulled one of the bracelets out and put it over my right wrist. It reached halfway up my forearm just like Diana and Donnas' did. I took the other one, unsnapped it and then snapped it onto my left wrist.**

**Diana closed the box and looked down at the bracelets.**

**Soon there was a gold glow coming from the front wrist side. It looked like it was etching something in.**

**After a minute the glowing stopped and a little smoke came up from the area.**

**I blew it out of the way and looked down.**

**There, in place of where the star on each of the Princess Amazons' bracelets was, was my Starfire symbol.**

**An etching of a flame with an etching of a five corner star near the bottom of the flame.**

"**These are great," I said, looking up at Diana and smiling, "Thank you."**

**I gave her a hug before she handed me the box and returned to her seat.**

**I laid the box down next to the sword as Donna got up.**

"**My turn," She said with a grin as she handed me a box, "Open it."**

**I opened the box and saw a the back of a picture frame. I pulled it out of the box and saw that the frame was made of wood and had two pictures in it, one on top of the other.**

**The first was of all the other Titans and myself. Donna had taken it the first day we met. The second picture was of her, I and Diana when we had finished training in January.**

"**It took me a little longer than I thought to develop them," Donna said as she took the cardboard box from my hand, "I could only find one frame. What do you think of 'em?"**

**I grinned.**

"**They're great," I told her before giving her a hug, "Thank you, for everything."**

**I turned to Diana.**

"**Thank you too, Diana," I told her with a smile, "For believing in me and believing I could do this."**

**I turned to Queen Hippolyta.**

"**Thank you Queen Hippolyta," I told her with a smile as well, "For allowing me to come to your island and become an Amazon."**

**Then I turned to all the other Amazons who had been watching me.**

"**And I thank you all," I told them with a grin, "For giving me a chance to prove myself."**

**I saw some of them smile in the firelight before I heard someone start clapping. Soon almost every Amazon on the island was clapping for me.**

**I couldn't help but blush.**

**After about five minutes Queen Hippolyta rose from her seat again. She held up her hands and silenced everyone.**

"**I believe we have a little party to start," she said, smiling at all of her subjects, "Korina, since it is your fifteenth birthday, I believe you should do the honors."**

**I smiled and bowed.**

"**Thank you your majesty," I said to her before turning back to the crowd, "Let's get his party started."**

**As soon as I said that all the Amazons went running off in different directions. Some went off and started playing with a ball in a game similar to soccer. The younger Amazons went over to eat before heading off to play. Queen Hippolyta joined with the older Amazons under a tree and started talking about philosophy and politics.**

"**I bet you've never been to a party like this." Diana said as she stood next to Donna and I.**

"**Nope." I said, shaking my head a little in disbelief.**

**They helped me set my presents over to the side before we all went and started playing ball with some of the other Amazons.**

**The party went on until about two before we all decided to head back to our huts and get some sleep.**

"**Too bad we have to be back in school by Monday," Donna said as the three of us walked back to the other side of the island, "I could so use the extra sleep this morning."**

"**This is the usual time for me," I said, smiling at her, "It's part of the job."**

**We laughed a little as we finally exited the castle.**

"**I'll come by to get you two in a half hour," Diana said as we started to part ways, "Get dressed in your street clothes and make sure you have everything you need."**

**Donna and I just nodded as we started walking to our hut.**

"**Hey Donna," I said as we were about halfway there, "When your mother made me an Amazon, what did she mean by 'of the highest order'?"**

"**It means that your kind of a member of the royal family," She said as we reached the hut, "You are basically a leader, like Diana and myself. Mother thinks highly of your opinion and trusts you to teach and lead the Amazons, although I have to tell you, we haven't been in a battle in years, but we still keep up our training exercises just in case. You never know when you're gonna have a war."**

**We laughed a little before heading in our hut and getting changed.**

**After I changed I carefully put my things away in my gym bag. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. It was probably Diana.**

**I was wrong.**

**As I opened the door I saw Queen Hippolyta at the outside.**

"**I just wanted to say Happy Birthday once more," She said as she saw me at the door, "I pray to the gods that you and my daughters will have a safe trip back."**

"**Thank you your majesty," I told her politely, "I had a great time here on the island."**

"**I'm glad you enjoyed your stay here Korina," she said with a smile, "And thank you, for teaching me that the outside has changed."**

"**You really don't need to thank me," I said politely. I never really liked being put in the spotlight, especially when there were others out there who were probably much better at most things than I was. The other Titans always say I'm too humble and that I don't give myself enough credit but after everything I've done, before my parents death, I don't think I deserve any credit for anything.**

"**Yes, I do," She said softly, "Have a safe trip and don't forget to come visit."**

**With that, she walked away.**

**I smiled and closed the door.**

"**You don't have to be so humble, y'know," I heard Donna say behind me.**

"**It's just part of who I am." I answered back with the truth. At least part of it.**

**I guess, even after all Donna and I had talked about, I still thought I could hide some of my real feelings from her.**

**I was wrong. Again.**

"**Your trying your best y'know," She said quietly as she checked her things, "Sooner or later, the guilt is going to get to you. Don't let it take over, Kory. Just let it out."**

**I looked at her and saw that she had followed her words, but I couldn't. Not yet.**

**There was a knock on the door before I could respond.**

"**You two ready?" We heard Diana call from the other side of the door.**

"**Yeah." Donna said as she slung her gym bag over her shoulder and went to open the door. I zipped up my gym bag and followed her out.**

A/N: And so, Kory's time on Themyscira comes to an end. I'll post the epilogue tomorrow along with Chapter 30 of Year 1, so stay tuned!

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Please review!


	9. Epilogue

Disclaimer: Don't own characters. DC does. I just own the plot. Don't sue.

This story is in Kory's POV and is a tie-in to my other story 'Teen Titans: Year 1.'

**Epilogue**

**We were about an hour away from Gotham. It was just me and Donna.**

**Diana had gotten called in from the JLA for a big emergency. Donna said she'd come with me the rest of the way before heading back. We had changed quickly and left the jet when we were about an hour away from Gotham.**

**Donna and I flew in silence the whole trip back. We arrived to an empty cave an hour later.**

"**Thanks for leading me back," I told Donna after we flew through the waterfall, "And for inviting me. It was fun."**

**We landed near the bat computer.**

**I started to walk toward the training room when Donna stopped me.**

"**Listen," She said after I walked a few steps. After I turned around, she continued, "If I seemed out of line earlier, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or anything."**

"**You didn't offend me Donna," I told her truthfully, "Crying is just not my thing, y'know. I haven't really cried since I moved to Citadel. Actually I don't even remember the last time I cried, it was so long ago. It's just not something I can do right now, y'know?"**

"**Yeah, I get it," Donna said, smiling understandingly. She held out her hand, "Friends?"**

"**No." I said, keeping my face void of any emotions. She looked a little disappointed as she lowered her hand.**

**I took a few steps closer to her.**

"**Sisters." I said with a grin. She grinned back before giving me a hug.**

"**Sisters." She repeated as she pulled back, "I better head back now, but I'll talk to you later."**

"**Kay," I said as she started to float up. I yawned before continuing, "I'll see ya later."**

**With that she flew out of the cave as I headed over to the training room. I walked into the girls' locker room and changed out of my uniform and back to my street clothes.**

**I walked to the door in the back of the locker room and put my hand on the scanner next to it. It opened up to reveal Richard and my office.**

**I walked in and pulled my gifts out of my gym bag. I put the pictures Donna gave me on my desk and made a mental note to buy another frame. I walked over to the weapons room and put my sword from Queen Hippolyta on an empty stand in my case and the Bracelets Diana had given me on the bottom shelf, before closing the glass.**

**The others would probably never believe what I did for spring vacation.**

**As I re-entered the regular office, I saw the reports on Richards' desk that I had to file on my computer before putting them away.**

**Maybe it's best if I don't tell them.**

**That's what I thought as I snuck up from the cave and towards my room on the third floor.**

**It'll only keep them from the real work.**

**It'll only keep me from the real work.**

**It's time to get back to reality.**

**Paradise is great, but you gotta remember, you can't stay there forever. **

A/N: And so ends Kory's spring training. I'd like to thank Anonymous and jakefan for reviewing and of course everyone for reading. I hope you all enjoyed it. Don't worry, Kory's returning to the team in today's update (Chapter 30) of Teen Titans: Year 1.

So, for the last time for this story, thanks for reading. Please review!


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